abc7 reporter stephanie sierra is digging into the city's progress. >> reporter: san francisco's economy is showing signs of bouncing back . it's not just the site of testing cable cars am a busy streets, and packed restaurants, but the landmark hotspots like tat it's grill. it's california's oldest restaurant, and just like fine wine, their business is getting better with time. >> business is busier than it was a month ago, but last month we were starting to kick into high gear, because we were allowed to go to 100%. >> reporter: for the manager, it is not just the smell of his food for the soul, but since june 15, his entire staff has returned to a packed room and bar every lunch hour, a site he has not seen in 18 months. >> it's not just people in san francisco, but all over the country. >> reporter: so packed my reservations are not required. >> we haven't taken reservations and 170 years. >> reporter: assignment business travel is starting to crawl back. next door, same story. >> the numbers are going in the right direction. >> reporter: the owner says business the past month has ju

abc7 news reporters stephanie sierra takes a look at the new report on just how contagious the delta variant is, but we begin with reporter lyanne melendez with a pending announcement in san francisco. >> reporter: here is the situation. even if you get more people vaccinated tomorrow, it will be more than a month before they are protected from covid. the health department knows this and that is why a mask mandate for san francisco and other counties is all but certain. at this point, they say mitigation is key. when san francisco mayor london breed arrived at an outdoor event wearing a mask, it was a clear sign of things to come. >> we are definitely close to a mandate of wearing a mask and i know people are tired of being told what to do, but the fact is, this is where we are. >> reporter: following that statement, the city health director said he will meet with other county health officials to take action as early as next week. >> delta is causing the vast majority of our covid-19 cases right now. as i said, this surge is going faster than the surgeon the fall or winter. >> report

as i team reporter stephanie sierra found, the crime rates are declaring. >> reporter: it can happen within a blink of a eye. thousands of capital gone in seconds. >> they have a new technique of breaking in. >> reporter: for this man, it happened twice in two weeks. he and his wife have owned sherman market, that sits at union and franklin, for the past 30 years. >> every time we see a number on the phone, oh, my god, that's alarm company. >> reporter: just days ago, this person drove a car into their business store front at 3:15 a.m. to break down the toward. the headlights visible through the glass. moments later, the door was pride open and the owner says the robber ran out with $10,000 worth of lottery scratchers. >> and then they backed up the car, and then they ram again door. >> reporter: they have $10,000 in repair costs. and they are out $20,000 worth of stolen merchandise. >> i have to check on the cameras to see if the door is there or not. it's really traumatizing for us. it's like we are suffering here. >> reporter: there have been more than 3500 burglaries reported acr

abc7 news reporter stephanie sierra has the story. >> reporter: as the bay area braces for the height of our fourth surge, we're learning most of the recent transmission is spreading among unvaccinated people mingling indoors. >> a case gets into a household, it transmits to other people. >> reporter: the abc7 i-team wanted to know which households in the bay area are most at risk so we compiled the zip code list that included 5000 or more of the 12 plus population that recorded the lowest vaccination rates. our analysis found some of the most vulnerable areas include pockets of solano and alameda counties like berkeley, suisun city, vacaville, dixon, and fairview, where 45% to 60% of people living in these zip codes are not fully vaccinated. >> fairfield is lower than we want it to be. this is a neighborhood that is very stressed economically we've been putting a lot of effort into pop up spear >> reporter: dr. bela matyas is the health officer for solano county, which has the lowest vaccination rate in the bay area. >> the 30% of our residents who have not been vaccinated, i would n

now more with stephanie sierra and experts about what we can expect moving forward. >> reporter: top the bay area say if we are not careful the delta variant could move back our progress over the next few weeks. >> i didn't expect to see this given our high rates of vaccination. >> reporter: this is dr. maria reign, the chief of emergency medicine at ucsf. how important do you think this next two-week period will be for the bay area? >> i think the next two weeks will tell us a lot. it will continue to give us more data on the delta variant, which is largely what is spreading right now and what is causing in terms of these unquote break through infections across unvaccinated people. covid-19 cases rising at a rate we haven't seen in march. ucsf had 0 hospitalizations in march. now it is at 17. >> we have 17 people in the hospital now. and 16 of those are people unvaccinated. >> reporter: abc7 news' data analysis found a similar trend across the bay area with hospitalizations and case rates. on july 1 is, on average 231 new daily covid cases were reported across the bay area. now, a m

abc7 news reporter stephanie sierra combed through the data and breaks it down. >> reporter: no data from the cdc shows the delta variant is twice as infectious as previously thought. now considered just as transmissible as chicken box and more transmissible than mars, sars, ebola, common cold, seasonal flu, spanish flu, and smallpox. as the document states, the war has changed. >> it is capable of transmitting even from vaccinated individuals and that is the game changer. >> reporter: what was your initial reaction to this report? >> i was depressed. >> reporter: she says the new data from the cdc suggest the need for an indoor mask mandate is imminent. >> i am not sure i see a way out of this, short of going back to an indoor mask mandate. 100% of the time. >> reporter: the cdc report highlights data from an outbreak with 469 covid cases identified among people who travel to a county in massachusetts in early to mid july. 74% of those infected were fully vaccinated. >> the virus in the people who were vaccinated was equivalent to those who were unvaccinated. >> reporter: auc ucsf d

with the i-team, stephanie sierra, abc7 news. >> this is so eye-opening. i am glad you are bringing this to light. which bay area counties did you find have the biggest discrepancies? >> reporter: it's interesting, we did spend a lot of time looking at which areas had the highest disparities for white versus nonwhite loan approvals and napa and sonoma counties both have the largest gap with an 8% difference whereas san francisco and contra costa county both have a 5% difference, which we did find to be somewhat comparable to other california counties in terms of population size. for example, l.a. county reported a 3% difference and san diego is not far off either. >> interesting. thank you. >>> after years of fighting to build more housing in san francisco, the city now has a minimum number of units it must build. 82,000 over the next 10 years. it is not up for debate. what is will be the where and how this is accomplished. lyanne melendez has the story, because it is part of building a better bay area. >> reporter: for many years, areas of been in dire ne

stephanie sierra shares their warning. >> as the delta variant spreads rapidly across the united stateslic health officials are concerned certain pockets of california could see a 4th of july surge. >> as the variant comes in you are at very high risk. this is not a good time to not be vaccinated. >> the real concern is about unvaccinated people gathering and potentially spreading the strain known to be significantly more transmissible. >> probably 30%, 40% more transmissible than the uk variant. >> to put it in perspective. >> the rose garden with like ten out of 75 infected or something like that. this could be 40 out of 75. >> the masking guidance recommends people stay masked when attending meg events. >> we have seen a significant up tick, especiallia among the unvaccinated population. >> the deputy health officer for marin is expecting the case rates to more than double after the holiday. >> would not be surprise fire department marin goes from three cases a day to 20 cases of coronavirus a day. >> though more than 90% of the dose they one unvaccinated pocket to trigger a serious

stephanie sierra is in the newsroom to explain what is going on. >>> experts say beast vaccine deserts or unvaccinated pockets are driving most of the transmission in our current surge. we have created a list of those specific zip codes, but there is one neighborhood in particular that health officials are most concerned about. as the bay area braces for the height of our fourth surge, we are learning most of the recent transmission is spreading among unvaccinated people mingling indoors. >> where a case gets into the household and spreads to other people, so much more infectious. >> reporter: we wanted to know which households in the bay area are most at risk, so we compiled a list of zip codes that included at least 5000 or more of the 12 plus population that recorded the lowest vaccination rates. our analysis found some of the most vulnerable areas, including pockets of solano and alameda counties, like berkeley, vacaville, dixon and airfield, where between 45 and 60% of people living in these zip codes are not fully vaccinated. >> fairfield is legitimately lower than we wanted to b

let's begin with stephanie sierra. >> reporter: we are keeping a close eye on our data dashboard. to put it all into perspective, our case rates of more than doubled since the state reopened just a month ago. most of this transmission is stemming directly from the delta variant. >> reporter: masks are back for anyone vaccinated indoors. that is a new recommendation from health officials in nearly every bait area county.area cou. the indoor masking recommendation is adopted in alameda, contra costa, marin, san mateo, and the city of berkeley. >> that is the main cause for concern. why is this different now? the delta variant is the difference. >> reporter: dr. susan phillips says the cases are eight times more than what they were three weeks ago. she expects the city will average 80 new cases per day >> how many ours from the variant? >> i am very concerned about the delta variant. i do believe that is the cause of these increase cases. >> reporter: there are roughly 4 new cases for every 100,000 people. >> in our county public health lab, 43% of the cases we could sequence where t

our reporter stephanie sierra spoke with the chief of emergency medicine at ucsf, to break down whate can expect as we move forward here. >> reporter: made it very clear tonight the period we are in now is the most crucial- >> stephanie, pick up your microphone, if you can. >> reporter: ultimately her message was this period we are in right now is the most crucial one. and how highly transmissible the delta verrier is. and the next two weeks will be the deciding factor if all of us could be masking up again. top health officials say if we are not careful, the delta variant could move back our progress over the next three weeks. >> i didn't expect to see this, given our high rates of vaccination. >> reporter: dr. maria raven, the chief of emergency medicine at ucsf- >> how important do you think this next two week period will be for the bay area? >> i think it will tell us a lot. it will continue to give us more data on the delta variant. which is largely what is spreading right now. and what is causing, in terms of these breakthrough infections among vaccinated people. >> reporter: i

stephanie sierra is tracking the latest data for us live in the newsroom. >> covid case rates are increasing rapidly in every bay area county. and top doctors sternly believe the delta variant is not only pushing back our chances of reaching herd immunity, but this latest surge will only get worse before it gets better. >> the delta variant. >> delta variant is the difference. >> we will continue to evolve our response >> reporter: it's what none of us want to hear. the delta variant has changed what it will take to reach herd immunity. that tweet coming from dr. bob walter, the chair of ucsf's department of medicine. >> do you agree with that? >> yeah, i do. herd immunity is a function of how transmissible a virus is. the goal posts have unfortunately shifted with the delta variant. >> reporter: dr. george rutherford says the delta variant has pushed back the state's goal of reaching herd immunity by several months. and that's considered a safe estimate. >> i'm guessing we're now talking somewhere in the mid-80%. that's not people eligible for vaccine, that's everybody, including children.

stephanie sierra spoke one-on- one with dr. walker to break down what we can expect over the next two weeks . >> the doctor made it clear that we should expect changes, he believes a mask mandate will be going back to the bay area any day now and i went latest surge could peak within the next month. the question is will we keep it under control and avoid another lockdown? the bay area's fourth wave is growing fast. how fast? in a mere three weeks on average, new covid infections have increased fivefold, and hospitalizations have more than doubled across all nine counties. so, what are our chances of another lockdown? >> not zero. >> we spoke to the expert, the department of medicine chair, dr. walker . >> you think it's possible the bay area could face another lockdown? >> it depends on what we do, and i think that we are catching this early enough and the percentage of vaccinated people is high enough likelihood that we are going to see a surge that threatens to overwhelm our hospitals is very low. >> while he is cautiously op

. >> stephanie sierra is joining us live with a look at the reasons behind this request. >> reporter:osely monitoring the data, checking the increase in cases across the bay area and put it in perspective, case rates have more than doubled state reopened a month ago. as we are hearing from health officers, most of this is stemming directly from the delta variant. masks are back for anyone vaccinated indoors. that is the new recommendation from health officials in nearly every bay area county as the delta variant is fueling a new spike in coded cases. the indoor masking recommendation is adopted in alameda, contra costa, marin, san mateo, santa clara and sonoma counties, plus the city of berkeley. >> that is the

abc7 news reporters stephanie sierra takes a look at the new report on just how contagious the delta lyanne melendez with a pending announcement in san francisco. >> reporter: here is the situation. even if you get more people vaccinated tomorrow, it will be more than a month before they are protected from covid. the health department knows this and that is why a mask mandate for san francisco and other counties is all but certain. at this point, they say mitigation is key. when san francisco mayor london

stephanie sierra found out the seizure of these illegal weapons are reaching record highs across thereaking down the latest data and information for us. >> reporter: ghost gun seizures, as you pointed out, in san francisco have more than doubled in the past year and part of what the legislation would do if passed in september is not only prohibit the sale of these illegal weapons, but help law enforcement crackdown on the manufacturers. when you hear that a 10-year- old is able to build a ghost gun, describing it as

stephanie sierra takes you to neighborhoods across the bay area tonight were the problem continues and >> reporter: we have been digging into data and found 62% of white families on their home, whereas for black families, that percentage is nearly cut in half. as we found out, certain pockets have it even worse. buying a home in the bay area is tough. it's not just sky high prices, but the odds of actually qualifying for a loan. do you own your home? >> no, i don't. i wish i did. >> reporter: he tried to purchase a home like this one

>> reporters stephanie sierra asks the question we all have and it said answered after hearing most healthmmend everyone put their masks on inside. >>> it has never been a bad time to be a job seeker. >> if you are unhappy at work, you are in luck. >>> building a better bay area. moving forward. finding solutions. this is abc7 news. >>> i heard they could ask us to wear masks indoors again. >> here we go again. we may be weeks away from a new mask mandate and today we took the first step. thank you for joining us, i am ama daetz. >> you are watching live on abc7, hulu live, and wherever you stream. >> our work better bay area means keeping a close eye on the pandemic and changing rules. statewide activity is rising every way you measure it. it is part of why the bay area released new recommendations saying everyone should wear masks indoors, no matter if you are vaccinated or not. so far it is a recommendation, not a requirement. >> and that applies to almost the entire bay area. only celano and napa county did not involve themselves in today's announcement. >> laura anthony spoke with doc

abc7 news reporter stephanie sierra joining us from the newsroom with more. >> reporter: we are tracking most counties are in talks about pushing forward with a mask mandate. whether it could be announced in 10 minutes or a few days is unclear, but given the rise in transmission and hospitalization, experts say it will be necessary to get ahead of the surge. as the bay area braces for a mask mandate to return, all eyes are on four counties that may be first in line. >> solano, contra costa, alameda, san francisco. >> reporter: we showed dr. george rutherford this map that is tracking transmission in real-time across california, using the latest data from the cdc. as we zoom into the bay area, san francisco, alameda, contra costa, and solano county are colored red, indicating community transmission is high. all four counties reported between 30% to 70% increase in covid cases over the past seven days. >> it makes

here is more on that story from stephanie sierra. >> reporter: dr. raven made it very clear that the period we are in is the most crucial. given how much transmission is increasing, the next two weeks will be the deciding factor. top health officials said that if we are not careful that the delta variant can move the process back. >> i did not expect to see this , given the high rates of vaccination. >> reporter: dr. raven is the chief of emergency medicine. how important are the next two weeks for the bay area? >> i think the next two weeks will tell us a lot. it will continue to give us data on the delta variant. which is largely what is spreading. and what it is causing with the breakthrough infections with vaccinated people. we have seen one or two a day. gives me pause. it is not what i thought we would see. >> reporter: covid-19 hospitalizations are rising at a rate that we have not seen since march. in july they had hero has relations. and now there are 17. for context at the height of the last surge that number was in the 60s. >> of the 17 an

first let's hear from stephanie sierra. >> reporter: a covid case rate is tripling across the bay area. and top doctors say the delta variant is not only to blame but the rapid spread is pushing back the chances of reaching herd immunity. >> we will continue to evolve our response. >> reporter: it's not what anyone wants to hear. the delta variant has changed what it will take to reach herd immunity. >> do you agree with that? >> i do. herd immunity is a function of how transmissible a viruses. >> reporter: usf lead epidemiologist edits push back the goal of reaching herd immunity by several months. and that is considered a safe estimate. >> we are talking up to 80%. that's for everybody. >> reporter: how long will it take to get to that sweet spot? >> at the rate that we are vaccinating it will take months >> reporter: 53% of the states total population is fully vaccinated. san francisco county is at 69%. one of the highest rates in the country. yet covid cases are climbing at a pace that we have not seen since the onset of the last surge. >> we are projecting that we will be on an av

there have been more than 3500 burglaries across the city so far this is is is is stephanie sierra foundlready declining this year. >> reporter: it can happen within the blink of an eye. thousands of dollars of capital gone within seconds. it happened twice in two weeks. he and his wife have owned sherman market at union and franklin for the past 30 years. >> every time we see a number on the phone, we think it's the alarm company. >> reporter: this person drove their car to break down the door. the headlights were visible through the glass. moments later, the door was pried open and the person ran out with $10,000 of lottery scratchers. they have $10,000 in repair costs and they are out $20,000 worth of stolen merchandise? >> our have to check on the camera to see if the door is still there or not.or not.or no. >> reporter: there have been more than 3500 burglaries reported across the city so far this year. and more than 1100 burglaries of 50 biking out with close to $1000 worth of merchandise from a walgreens >> we are seeing burglaries happening in heavily populated areas. >> reporter

. >> reporter: stephanie sierra, abc7 news. >>> and the race to vaccine farm workers has hit a new levelvaccine mistrust in a large seasonal work force had to be overcome in order to sustain food production. now a unique partnership has developed and could become a model for the country. >>> covid-19 was infecting 20% of all farm workers. agriculture was a $2 billion business this monterey county. this woman got sick in july. she told us she lost her sense of smell and taste, nausea and other symptoms put her out of work for two weeks. when vaccines became available this year, a partnership of employers and community clinics formed to forester trust and register farm workers and their families that handle as many as 4,000 people at a time. it is estimated 75% have been fully vaccinated. >> i wish you could be like a farm worker. amen that we can elevate the farm worker community. >> reporter: this son of a farm worker visited a vaccine clinic in salinas to look at how this can be replicated. they are looking for trust in the vaccine and waiting as workers arrive for the harvest. >> we lo

in the newsroom, stephanie sierra. abc7 news. >>> we want to check in with meteorologist lisa argen for a look at the weather. >>> here's a live look outside word is cloudy. the marine layer doing its thing this morning. quite foggy out there in spots. it will keep his cool at the coast, but increasing high clouds, mid-level clouds, and then the moisture. we will put it together coming up next with my accuweather forecast . >>> dozens of candidates have filed valid paperwork to appear in the recall ballot. how governor newsom is responding to the election he is facing. >>> record heat in oregon could affect your holiday decorations. why you could be pa what if you could push a button and less carbon would be put into the air. if there were a button that would help you use less energy, breathe cleaner air, and even take on climate change... would you press it? >>> state elections officials announced 41 candidates have filed paperwork. secretary of state shirley weber will grizzlies a certified list of names that will ap

stephanie sierra shares their warning. >> as the delta variant spreads rapidly across the united statesealth officials concerned certain pockets of california could see a 4th of july surge. >> as the variant comes in you are at high risk this is not a good time to not be vaccinated. >> the real concern is about unvaccinated people gathering and potentially spreading the strain known to be significantly more transmissible. >> probably 30, 40% more transmissible than the uk variant. >> to put it in perspective. >> you remember the rose garden with how many? it was like ten infected out of 75. this could be 40 out of 75. >> they recommend even vaccinated people stay masked when attending meg events which include five thousand or more people indoors or 10,000 people outside. >> the past couple of days we have seen a significant up tick, especially among the unvaccinated population. >> lisa is the deputy health officer for marin county. is he expecting the case rates will more than double after the holiday. >> would not be surprised if marin goes from three cases a day to 20. >> more than 90

. >> reporter: stephanie sierra, abc7 news. >>> the race to vaccine farm workers has hit a new level.ccine mistrust and a large seasonal workforce had to be overcome in order to sustain food production >> reporter: at the height of the pandemic before vaccines, covid-19 was infecting 40% of all farm workers. that was a serious blow to growers and shippers. agriculture was a $2 billion business in monterey county. this woman lost her sense of smell and taste, nausea and other symptoms put her out of work for two weeks. when vaccines became available this year a partnership of community clinics formed to foster trust and register farm workers and their families at events that handle as many as 4 how people at a time. it is estimated 75% have been fully vaccinated. >> i wish you could be like a farm worker. amen that we can elevate the farm worker community. >> reporter: this is the son of a farm worker that visited a vaccination clinic in is a lee yas to learn how this effort may be replicated in construction, retail and office settings. many challenges are creating trust in the south a

>> reporter stephanie sierra is digging us into the latest data. >> liz and dan our data team is tracking the rates of transmission across the state as that will be an indicator driving the decision whether masks need to be mandated. the map has highlighted four counties in particular in the bay area that can be first. that list includes san francisco, alameda and contra costa and solano counties. this mask is in red indicating the level of community transmission is high and all four counties reported between a 30 and 70% increase in covid cases in the past seven days. these counties collectively had more than 5500 cases and more than 360 hospitalizations in the past week. we spoke to dr. george rutherford that says it would make sense that counties would be first to implement and mandate. but added that the decision would be made at the group like we have seen in the past or by each county. here is what we know is driving the transmission. >> first and foremost. lack vaccination and the second thing is delta. and we get down to the third thing and it is indoor transmission. most transmis

stephanie sierra is checking the latest data. she is live in the newsroom with the latest look. >> it is not just homes flying off the market. the city has seen an 80% spike in demands for rentals over the past six months. that is along with dozens of major companies returning to the office. strong sign our economy is starting to bounce back. >> from erie goes down to a san francisco that is starting to feel alive again. >> real estate agents are seeing the impacts firsthand. >> the housing market was always heating up in san francisco but they say the rental market, which dipped during the pandemic is starting to catch up. >> rentals were sitting on the market for a long time. on average at least one month or two. now they are working off of a week or two. >> this time last year only to 25 rental listings closed on the mls. >> it is just that people nejush to come back. >> people are coming back and so are the prices. overall average rent for a two bedroom two bath has increased up to 20%. it verizon location. we showed the bigg

stephanie sierra, abc7 news. >> is certainly concerning. what are we hearing from the counties directly? >> reporter: we have confirmed with every bay area county that it could be a possibility as far as a mask mandate and discussions are happening as we speak. officials met about it today, but have not released a decision yet. regardless, most of the bay area is recommending masks be worn indoors, even if you are vaccinated. we are waiting to hear whether it will be mandated. experts guess san francisco, alameda, contra costa counties will likely be first, given the higher levels of transmission, but we will see. >> all right, thank you. >>> there have been a lot of developments on masking guidance and whether the return of a mask mandate as possible. on-air 3:00 p.m. show, we spoke with dr. robert siegel. here is part of conversation. >> reporter: the cdc is urging everyone to wear masks indoors in places with high transmission rates and that is basically the entire bay area. now officials recommend masks in public, indoor settings. what

stephanie sierra found out the seizure of these illegal weapons are reaching record highs across the city. she is breaking down the latest data and information for us. >> reporter: ghost gun seizures, as you pointed out, in san francisco have more than doubled in the past year and part of what the legislation would do if passed in september is not only prohibit the sale of these illegal weapons, but help law enforcement crackdown on the manufacturers. when you hear that a 10-year- old is able to build a ghost gun, describing it as easy as building legos, you know there is a problem. just ask steve linley, the former california doj firearms chief. >> this is a kit you can buy and have sent your house online, no regulations. >> reporter: she calls it california's flawed loophole. >> california law allows these kits to be sold anywhere in california and all that one has to do is after assembling the ghost gun, whether in ar-15 or whatever type of gun it is, they have to apply for a serial number to the department of justice, 10 days after assembly. you can imagine nobody is doing that.

stephanie sierra is digging into the city's progress. >> san francisco's economy is showing signs of bouncing back, it's not just the mere sight of testing cable cars, busy streets and packed restaurants but the landmark hotspots like catechin grill, after all, it's california's oldest restaurant, and just like fine wine, business is getting better with time. >> business is busier than it was a month ago but last month we were starting to kick into high gear because we were allowed to go to 100%. >> for this manager, it's not just the smell of his food for the soul, but since june 15, his entire staff has returned to a lunch hour, a site he hasn't seen in 18 months. >> it's not just people in san francisco, it's from all over the country. >> so packed, reservations are required. >> we haven't taken what reservations and 150 years. >> next-door, same story. >> the numbers are going in the right direction. >> the owner of provocative said that business has jumped close to 50% but expects those levels to stay steady by the fall. >> so we are very sure that after labor day we are going t

. >> stephanie sierra. abc7 news. >>> and let's check the forecast now. gray start to this morning. its been that way all week. if has but that mist and drizzle is always a good sign. the redwoods need it and it's helping keep the moisture content up during the drought which of course has been back to back year to year. the gray start in the inland valleys as well and you may need the wipers time to time. all the way up and down the coast from northern california, even up toward the park northwest to southern california, it's all about the low clouds and fog at the coast and some moisture there from san diego to los angeles, making its way up through the southern sierra, up through lake tahoe with a red flag warning, 11:00 tonight through 11:00 tomorrow morning through the greater lake tahoe area. high fire danger. not only in the bay area, for this time of year, in southern california, all year long but in the mountains. here is a look at the camera where we have the gray sky. it's 55 in san francisco, 59 59 oakland. 62 in mountain view. this will look for the typical sea breeze wi

. >> stephanie sierra is joining us live with a look at the reasons behind this request. >> reporter: we have been closely monitoring the data, checking the increase in cases across the bay area and put it in perspective, case rates have more than doubled state reopened a month ago. as we are hearing from health officers, most of this is stemming directly from the delta variant. masks are back for anyone vaccinated indoors. that is the new recommendation from health officials in nearly every bay area county as the delta variant is fueling a new spike in coded cases. the indoor masking recommendation is adopted in alameda, contra costa, marin, san mateo, santa clara and sonoma counties, plus the city of berkeley. >> that is the main concern. that is what has to change. why is it different now? the delta variant is the difference. >> reporter: the county health officer says the city rates are eight times more what they were three weeks ago and she expects the city will soon be averaging 80 new cases per day. how much of the recent spikes in new cases do you think stem directly from the

. >> she joins reporters stephanie sierra, who interviewed an expert and says a mask mandate is eminent. >> reporter: today we director, rochelle walensky, saying once again we are in a pandemic of the unvaccinated. citing the vast majority of infections and hospitalizations almost exclusively happening among the unvaccinated. experts tell me today's change is a step that is telling of what we are faced with in the u.s. with the delta variant. officially, the cdc reverses its indoor mask policy, citing the latest data. eight of 10 samples contained the highly transmissible delta variant. >> in areas with substantial and high transmission, cdc recommends fully vaccinated people wear masks in public, indoor settings. >> reporter: the cdc recommendation applies to places with substantial or high transmission. defined as more seven days. you can see the southeast covered in red. that is high transmission. california is barely below that, in the orange category. our data team noticed multiple bay area counties are surpassing the transmission standard for indoor mask guidance and are in the r