m melanie woodrow breaks down the numbers.e a listen. >> an abc 7 news i-team analysis of data from the covid tracking project and state health departments looked at process covid-19 tests for the 50 states and d.c. when standardizing for population distances for 1 million people, california ranks 48th with 6,550 tests processed. rhode island ranks first with the most tests processed, 29,037 and virginia ranks 51st with 5,041 tests processed. california has been lagging in tests the last three weeks, ranking 50th on april 3rd, up to 45th last week, and back down to 58 this week. still, governor newsom says california is improving. >> we are seeing substantially larger number of people tested on a daily basis. over 12,500 today. we are seeing those numbers increase compared to where they were, even a week ago. we want to get to 25,000 tests a day within the next few weeks. >> the governor says task for specicay focused on testing and looking at new types of tests and technologies. for the i-team, melanie woodrow, abc 7 news. >>

nbc 7's melanie woodrow woodroww more. >> reporter: 41 residents tested positive for covid-19. 25 staff members and nine deaths according to alameda county health officials. family members are worried for their loved ones. >> i didn't know people had been dying here. last i had heard, there was one person who tested positive. >> reporter: health officials say the spread of these types of facilities is to be expected because of the congregant setting. >> this is a very vulnerable population. they have a lot of medical conditions. >> reporter: dr. erica ponce says the county is recommending universal masking and is keeping tabs on east bay post acute health care center where 21 staff members and 15 residents have tested positive. there have been zero deaths. dr. ponce says because staffing in the county is an issue, if a staff member testifies positive fob covid-19 but is asymptomatic, that staff member might still care for a resident who has also tested positive. >> this is if all other staffing options are exhausted. >> reporter: meantime, in the south bay. >> with widespread transmissi

in the newsroom for the i-team melanie woodrow. abc 7 news. >>> thank you. an emeryville company working to get test results faster instead of waiting for days, nanomix says it can deliver them in as little as 15 minutes. david louie is on that story. >> the spread of covid-19 within senior care facilities under scores the need for a portable testing device that can confirm infections quickly. that's why the team at nanofix in emeryville is working hard to get the device deployed. they have the hand-held device and the cartridge in which the analysis is performed. >> the cartridge is plugged into our mobile instrument and that can be done anywhere that the subject is as well. the operator presses go, it takes less than 15 minutes to run through the testing protocol. >> the testing is the biological process that goes inside the cartridge. the nanomix system takes a nasal swab and a blood sample to detect antibodies the immune system develops as a result of the infection. in that way, it can detect both active and past infections. the device is the size of a b

for the i-team, melanie woodrow, abc 7 news. >>> in the south bay, a company centered around emergency transportation for pets is taking on new purpose during the covid-19 pandemic. with pet owners under strict stay-at-home orders, more are relying on the transport resource. here is amanda del castillio with details. >> she couldn't walk. she was collapsing. she had a very, very bad case of vertigo. >> reporter: the 105-pound canine bred german shepherd is almost fully recovered. it's proven to be challenging for pet owners. because of covid-19 usual aftercare has changed. >> they're just now starting to ur animal hato go witht nobogo . you. >> reporter: one of dante's owners is recovering from a torn tendon on her right rotator cuff. she can't lift dante. so she turned to 360 pet cap, launched in 2019, the medical transportation company for pets has found new purpose during the pandemic. >> a lot of my clients do have pre-existing conditions, you know, whether it be asthma, their cancer is in remission, things like that, where they do not want to take any chances at all. >> reporter:

melanie woodrow broke this story earlier today. she has exclusive details you'll see only on 7. >> bay area residents thought they were buying much needed n95 masks from an online company called em general. but according to a complaint today, a 24-year-old michigan man running the company, rodney stephenson ii had no intention of delivering masks. >> what's described in the complaint is a consumer nightmare of fake web pages and false promises. >> em general's umbrellas is mostly bare now, but the u.s. attorney for the northern district of california, david anderson, says when investigators began looking, they found much more. >> stock photographs and fake bios, purporting to describe the ceo, cfo, and other top officers of em general. >> more than 90 customers filed complaints with the u.s. postal service claiming they placed orders and paid for n95 masks but never received them. three victims are from the bay area, including a health care worker in san jose. by phone, stevenson's father told the abc7 news i-team that the family w

abc i-team reporter melanie woodrow has that story new at 6:00. >> the number was staggering, 39 million critically needed n95 masks for california health care workers. millions of them going to health care systems right here in the bay area. tonight a spokesperson for the union that located the supplier says the suspected fraud is very disappointing. for weeks health care workers across california and right here in the bay area have been calling for more personal protective equipment as they battle the coronavirus pandemic. >> what do we want? after launching an exhaustive search, service employees international union, unitedhealthcare workers west announced two weeks ago it had done the near impossible, locating 39 million n95 masks for hospitals and government agencies. in an emailed statement to the i-team an seiu-uhw person writes our role was to connect those who needed ppe with a potential supplier. on the list was the state of california, dignity health, kaiser permanente, stanford health care, sutter health, and santa clara county. once the connection was made, the union says it

melanie woodrow has the surveillance video you'll see only on 7. >> sweet & spark isn't closed for goodlooks like that way now. co-owner bremer closed the door after two people used a crowbar to break in around 1:00 a.m. friday, just two weeks into san francisco's shelter in place. the whole thing caught on surveillance video. bremer hadn't boarded up her store like others on fillmore street. >> there were boxes all over the floor, damage to the front door. it just was a mess. >> the store sells new clothing along with vintage jewelry, scarves and purses within seconds, the alarm sounded and the alarm company called bremer who called san francisco police. >> walking into the store in the middle of the night with the door just smashed in was really surreal. we had to get the door fixed immediately. the next morning we had to figure out what orders were stolen, what jewelry was stolen, cancel other outgoing orders. >> bremer estimates the damage to the door and stolen items at a few thousand dollars. in december, thieves posing as sweet and stark shoppers stole a rare vintage chanel purse

melanie woodrow spoke with the u.s.orney leading the task force about why the activity is expected to be rampant here in california. >> palettes of n95 masks. >> enough material to outfit an entire hospital. >> this is some of what federal investigators recently seized from a brooklyn man who they say was hoarding medical supplies and selling them at a premium. >> he was selling that product at approximately a 700% markup. >> u.s. attorney for the district of new jersey is leading the covid-19 hoarding and price gouging task force. >> there are just despicable actors who are taking advantage of fear. and it's the most un-american thing that i think you can do in a time when the country is clearly in pain and needs this stuff to heal. >> from the east coast to the west coast, he says there are certain places where hoarding and price gouging of covid-19 medical supplies is likely to be more rampant. >> brooklyn, new jersey, louisiana, california. this is where the materials coming in from abroad and being picked up by a l

and have i responsibilities to take care of. >> melanie woodrow, abc7 news. >>> all right.now to turn to some consumer news. >> a lot going on. 7 on your side's michael finney is here with today's consumer headlines. michael?genera 36 xavier becerra here in california are calling for more protections for homeowners during the pandemic. the attorneys general want the government to added as extended payments rather than as a lump sum. there has been some real concern about this. they also want clarification that the federal moratorium on foreclosures and evictions applies to all aspects of the process. >>> if you're looking to buy a new or used car, you can get a great deal right now. a smokin' deal. but if you have a car to trade in, you won't get as much for it. analysts at edmunds.com says based on historical evidence, your car could drop in value by nearly 10%, and values are expected to remain lower for the foreseeable future. >>> google is now requiring all advertisers to prove their identity. this is great news, something that consumeratav been calng for years.ers must

abc7 news reporter melanie woodrow has the story. >> if you were ever told as a kid not to draw on thels, or you've ever told your kids the same thing, you might have a hard time wrapping your head around michelle bell's dining room. >> i do a lot of things that i think a lot of parents probably are -- think i'm insane for doing. >> even bell's own kids thought really, mom? >> i was thinking that she was crazy. >> crazy, or creative. you decide. it all started with spring break and canceled plans thanks to coronavirus. >> las vegas and the grand canyon was where we were originally supposed to go. but we canceled it, and we were going to go to new york. and then this happened. >> we obviously had to cancel that. >> so bell got out the paint. >> this is a great opportunity to get creative. and paint the places that we wanted to go to or still want to go to, and have a little fun and let the kids have a free-for-all on the walls. >> i was a little skeptical at first, but then she started like sketching it out, and i kind of saw it in my mind, and it turned out really -- it turned out real

in the newsroom for the i-team, melanie woodrow, abc7 news. >>> now by now you've heard about the huged for ventilators to help patients suffering with covid-19. and that got us wondering, how do the ventilators work, what do they do and why is it so important for patients who have this virus? so we asked dr. alok patel. he is part of our abc7 news news team of coronavirus experts to help explain. us why you do not want to be on one of these. >> covid-19, an acute respiratory disorder that can cause your lungs to fail. your lungs bring in the oxygen that your body needs to run and expel the carbon dioxide you create. when the coronavirus attacks the cells that line your throat and lungs, it makes it hard for your lungs to do their job. >> patients who can no longer breathe on their own require intubation. >> so intubation is the actual process of inserting a breathing tube into somebody's mouth. >> that tube is hooked up to one of those ventilators you keep hearing so much about. >> intubation can protect someone's air way or secure their air way. now what are you intubated with? when

she spoke with melanie woodrow. >> reporter: alison crawford is a second generation first responder, her father a retired fire captain. two years ago crawford got certified as an emt. >> i remember when i told him he was just over the moon. he said you've always had this in you. you've always been someone who's run toward people in need. >> reporter: crawford typically works one 12-hour shift a week. >> there's a level of intensity and a level of focus with my partners. >> she is definitely in contact with people suspected of having the virus. >> any time someone has flu-like symptoms, we treat them as if they have covid-19. >> crawford recently took this video of doctors exiting the hospital to meet a patient brought in my ambulance outside, something you typically don't see. >> that's a covid case. >> her training now serving her well. >> one of the first things when we join is we have a mask fit specifically for us where they put a hood over us and we spray stinky stuff around it to make sure the seal is correct. we make sure it is around our nose and around the jaw line. when i c

. >>> i'm melanie woodrow. 39 million critically needed n95 masks for health care workers are now atederal fraud investigation. >>> if you have got a large supply of ppe, santa clara county wants to know about it. abc7 news at 6:00 starts now. >> now your health, your safety, this is abc7 news. >> good evening and thank you for joining us tonight. i'm ama daetz live from my home. >> and i'm dan ashley. new at 6:00, an update on a cluster of coronavirus deaths at an east bay nursing facility. six residents of the gateway care and rehabilitation center in hayward have died from coronavirus. dozens more have tested positive. abc7 news reporter jr stone is live with the details tonight. jr? >> well, dan, very sad news out here in hayward this evening as we talk about those six deaths. now, there have been 59 covid-19 cases at this facility, and that includes patients and also staff members. as i step out of the way, you can look off and see this facility here. we have seen employees going in and out of this location all day long. as you look at this facility, keep in mind, now according

. >> reporter: melanie woodrow, abc 7 news. >>> bay area health workers have been working on a plan to ease restrictions on the shelter-in-place order. it's going to be a while before life gets back to normal. but things like landscaping and playing golf could be reintroduced as long as social distancing is maintained. some businesses that haven't been deemed essential could reopen with certain guidelines. an infectious disease expert at stanford university says regional collaboration will be being be the key to keeping the community safe. >> hopefully we'll be able to get through the next weeks and months with the stepwise approach. and for people feeling patient and rebuilding their lives slowly but surely to what they think is their own version of normal. >> the current shelter in place order is at the time to expire in 18 days. that is may 4th. >>> president trump announced his administration's plan to reopen the american economy, shuttered of course by the coronavirus epidemic. the 18-page plan would ease restrictions in areas with low transmission first and are broken into three

she spoke with melanie woodrow. >> reporter: alison crawford is a second generation first responder,er father a retired fire captain. two years ago crawford got certified as an emt. >> i remember when i told him he was just over the moon. he said you've always had this in you. you've always been someone who's run toward people in need. >> reporter: crawford typically works one 12-hour shift a week. >> there's a level of intensity and a level of focus with my partners. >> she is definitely in contact with people suspected of having the virus. >> any time someone has flu-like symptoms, we treat them as if they have 19 >> crawford recently took this video of doctors exiti the hospital to meet aatnt brought in my ambulance outside, something you typically don't see. >> that's a covid case. >> her training now serving her well. >> one of the first things when we join is we have a mask fit specifically for us where they put a hood over us and we spray stinky stuff around it to make sure the seal is correct. we make sure it is around our nose and around the jaw line. when i come home from m

. >> reporter: i'm melanie woodrow. authorities are combatting coronavirus in nursing homes around the bay area. >> reporter: i'm eric thomas in oakland. this street will be blocked off tomorrow along with several others so you can get out and exercise is it still maintain a straight distance. that story straight ahead. >> announcer: now, your health, your safety. this is abc 7 news. >>> good evening, thank you for joining us. i'm dan ashley. >> and i'm ama daetz joining us live from my home. there is going to be a lot of temptation to take a break from your shelter in place to enjoy the holiday weekend. but all the experts say, don't. >> being home this weekend is of vital importance to all of us, a way to protect our communities, our neighbors, and our families. >> this just in, the contra costa county fairgrounds in antioch is going to turned into an overflow medical care site for coronavirus patients. it could handle a maximum of 43 patients if needed. sonoma county just issued a blanket order which means that anyon

. >> reporter: in san francisco, melanie woodrow, abc 7 news. >> that is so inspiring. she said it was a no brainer, but it really isn't. i mean -- >> you have a lot to consider. doing so much already. >>> the city of san francisco is launching a new effort to help the most vulnerable communities in the pandemic and that includes our seniors. mayor london breed announced the citywide network to assist people with errands like going grocery shopping and getting medications and the program also hopes to provide a sense of community for those living in isolation and who can't leave their homes. you can apply to the program on the city's website. >> i really love this idea, reggie. >> we have to remember the people that are most vulnerable during this time. >> hi, mike. >> hi, guys. yeah. i think our community is doing a great job of coming together and helping each other out and i love hearing these stories every day and more opportunities. hi, everybody. let's talk about it. we made it to thursday. we have gorgeous weather today. we'll start by opening the weather window

for the i-team, melanie woodrow, abc7 news. >>> in the south bay, a company centered around emergency transportation for pets is taking on new purpose during this pandemic with pet owners orders, most relying on the transport resource. amanda del castillo has the details. >> reporter: meet 13-year-old dante. he made it through ear canal removal surgery in early march. >> he couldn't walk. he was collapsing. he had these very, very bad case of vertigo. >> reporter: the 105-pound canine-bred german shepherd has almost fully recovered, but the pandemic is challenging for pet owners. because of covid-19, usual aftercare has changed. >> they're jtaine tits b nobody is letting humans go in. your animal has to go in without you. >> reporter: one of dante's owners is recovering from a torn tendon on her right rotator cuff. she can't lift dante so she turned to 360 pet cab. launched in 2019, the transportation company for pets has found new purpose during the pandemic. >> a lot of my clients have pre-existing conditions, you know, whether it be asthma or cancer in remission, things like that w

abc 7 news reporter melanie woodrow has the story which has new at 6:00. this is what it looked like friday in oakland, people making their way around lake merit who did not appear to be social distancing six feet apart. law enforcement officials in two bay area cities have issued citations to individuals violating public health orders. two citations handed out the in san francisco and two in san jose. none handed out in oakland. san francisco police chief william scott. >> this is a matter of life and death so we're asking that the public, please comply withic hed conversations with the san francisco district attorney about the possibility of the da's office filing charges stemming from the citations issued. >> i will say that he has been extremely supportive. we've talked specifically about the need to -- if the need arises, he is supportive. >> reporter: chief scott didn't have the cases to discuss the merits of either but eventually the two cases would make their way to prosecutors. >> we'll see what happens. >> reporter: chief scott says certain parts

melanie woodrow, abc7 news. >>> starting at 9:00 tomorrow morning, everyone who lives in san francisco'son district can get a coronavirus test this. neighborhood is showing some of the highest infection rates anywhere in the city. and abc7 news reporterly ann melendez is looking at how they are getting the word out. >> reporter: with a beautiful weekend ahead mayor london breed said don't give in to temptation and continue to shelter in place. >> stay at home. go out and get fresh air if we need it and keep our distance from people when we are outside. the mask does not mean that you can come closer to people. >> reporter: the mission district is the only neighborhood where people are being told to leave their homes to be tested for covid-19. this resident was putting up flyers with information. >> how concentrated, et cetera in the mission. >> reporter: four testing sites will be up and running beginning tomorrow through tuesday. volunteers were out again today urging people to sign up. >> it has been frustrating being at home the past few weeks and not feeling like there is anything yo