The last one left off, away from the classroom. Thanks for joining us. No one will be sitting in these chairs anytime soon after the governor announced this afternoon that public and private School Students cannot go back to class until their counties can slow the spread of the coronavirus. Schools in counties on the states covid watch list are not going to be able to reopen until theyre able to reduce their numbers of cases for 14 consecutive days and so far that effects 43 of 58 counties. When schools do reopen most of the students will have to wear masks. The governor says california is the first state to explicitly have this kind of max mandate. Abc 7 reporter Leanne Melendez joining us now on a busy day of Decision Making for the governor. That was a long press conference. Now Many School Districts were hoping for this mandate because it puts the burden off of them. Now, heres oakland unified, for example, which had 3 55 this afternoon send out a press release to say we had already made that decision last friday but now the governor has solidified it. Theyre basically saying, hey, the governors got our back. The one thing we had the power to do, to get our kids back into school is look at this list again, wear a mask. Reporter it was a plea made b the governor to try to reduce the coronavirus surge in california that has now forced many schools to go back to Distance Learning. Until now districts were deciding how to reopen schools putting them in an awkward position with parents and teachers. Newsom took on that responsibility issuing a new mandate. Schools can physically open for inperson education when the county that theyre operating in has been off our monitoring list for 14 consecutive days. Reporter with the exception of san mateo every county in the bay area is now on that list. San francisco was added today. San francisco unified had already decided to keep its Distance Learning model earlier in the week. This mandate applies to both public and private schools in the state. Another requirement issued by the Governors Office is that when schools reopen childrens grades 3 and up must wear a mask or face shield. Children in second grade and below are encouraged to do so. Other adaptations include teachers and students must maintain 6 feet of physical distancing. Schools must conduct daily temperature checks, and school staff will be tested on a rotating basis. Newsom also outlined a plan for schools if multiple infections occur. If a School Goes Home with multiple cohorts that have cases or we stipulate 5 of the school, local school, not district local school is positive, then it would trigger criteria to consider closing or mandate rather the closure of that school site. And also very important on the issue of Virtual Learning the governor also said it must be rigorous. We have to see more live interaction between students and teachers, he said. And it has to feel almost almost as if they were in the classroom. Leanne melendez, abc 7 news. And even before Governor Newsom made his announcement one east Bay School District that planned to have at least some inperson learning abruptly changed course. The superintendent tells the news anchor eric thomas its too complicated at this point. Reporter this morning the School Superintendent in brentwood sent this letter to parents. It told them a plan of some in person classes and Online Learning would be dropped. We said given the events of this week that we would start on august 10th in full Distance Learning mode. Reporter the change was announced just after a week after the school board settled on the hybrid plan. The reasons volta says it was taking up to two weeks to get covid19 test results back and Contact Tracing wasnt going as well as hoped making planning nearly impossible. I know the state is doing everything they can to ramp up those efforts, but as it increases they just cant keep up. Reporter the capper came this week when three student athletes in preseason conditioning came down with coronavirus forcing the district to cancel all further conditioning drills. The kids are safe and as of right now the strict social distancing and protocols that we have in place are proving that no other students to my knowledge have gotten sick. Reporter the Liberty Union high School District has 7,500 students at three schools and about 500 more in alternative programs. Administrators have already spent tens of thousands of dollars on ppe, Hand Sanitizer and hand washing stations. Now theyll have to to install e hot spots so that both faculty and students will have adequate access to Distance Learning, and thats before they figure out the logistics of actually teaching. Gaining online materials, how do you lecture versus how do you have a group discussion. It really is a challenge. Getting all that figured out by august 10th may be the biggest challenge of all. In brentwood, eric thomas, abc 7 news. Meanwhile more uc Berkeley Students have tested positive for coronavirus. According to our Media Partners at the Bay Area News Group there are now 95 infections largely linked to fraternity and sorority parties. Many of the new cases are apparently connected to the same parties. Yesterday the University Confirmed eight cases among student athletes taking part in voluntary work outs. Governor newsom today added San Francisco to the watch list. Those are counties experiencing spikes in cases and which must now adhere to the states stricter guidelines. The designation means the citys malls and nonessential offices must close down by monday. Mayor london breed highlighted one example with the problem of public gatherings. A large part of the new virus spread were seeing is coming from people who are having gatherings with others outside of their household. One of our Disaster Service workers, a person who was working on our Disaster Response was recently infected due to one of these gatherings. She lives with a roommate, and her roommate decided to go on a camping trip with 15 friends. They figured the camping was a safe socially distant activity, theyd wear masks, theyd be fine. But besides they didnt expect anyone in the group to have covid anyway, and after a few days as is human nature the group got comfortable, they started sharing meals and food and sitting closer to each othe. One person in the group started to show symptoms. And so what happened from there the roommate tested positive. The Disaster Service worker did not and the mayor says that coronavirus would be under control by now if everybody just wore a mask, practiced social distancing and avoided public gatherings. San mateo county on the peninsula is the only bay area county not currently on the states watch list but it could be by next weeks. The increase in hospitalizations there is putting the county close to the watch list threshold. In the north bay drag races are bringing up to a thousand people to sonoma raceway. Its one of the biggest attractions the region has seen since the pandemic began. In order to make it work there was a rule. If you want to race, put something on your face. As abc 7 News Reporter wade freeman has the story. Reporter we found just a hint of normalcy at sonoma raceway this weekend. Normal anyway based on the locale and that uniquely american sport known as drag racing. Its an addiction. Once youve done it once its kind of like drugs. Reporter and its not the kind of event that draws a big crowd. On a typical weekend you might get 600 spectators up here. This weekend only racers and their crews, and they have to follow rules. How do you social distance at a drag race . You stay 6 feet apart and everyone wears a mask. Reporter its a zerotolerance policy. Wear the mask or go home. The track so serious that it put your money franco inside this truck to roam the grounds every half an hour. Everybody should be wearing their mask at this time. Reporter have you had to kick anybody out . No, not yet. Reporter but the racers and crews arent exactly happy having to wear masks and everybody expressed that. Sucking in all the Carbon Dioxide youre supposed to be breathing out. I dont think it makes a difference. My opinion its all blown out of proportion. But youre in california now. Yeah. Reporter but sometimes youve just got to do what youve just got to do. Now if we could only come up with a vaccine as fast as some of these cars get down the track wed all be a lot happie. At sonoma raceway wade freeman, abc 7 news. Even with precautions any activity represents some level of risk of contracting coronavirus. Put your skills to the test with our coronavirus risk quiz. From getting a haircut to taking a bus guess the risk level and see what the experts say. Its on abc7news. Com. A family says a killer basically stole their baby sister and today he learned his sentencing for the death of nia wilson. Thats next. Plus, when history matters. How san jose is teaching new Police Officers the difficult past that follows them to the streets. And with covid19 and everything that comes with it were going to see revenues decline even more. So to have on top of that an undercount would just be devastating. The urgent push to count every Single Person living in the bay area before we lose billions of dollars and the number one obstacle in the way of the this virus is testing all of us. And its testing the people on the front lines of this fight most of all. So abbott is getting new tests into their hands, delivering the critical results they need. And until this fight is over, we. Will. Never. Quit. Because they never quit. In the east bay a man who stabbed and killed nia wilson at the bart station in oakland will spend the rest of his life in prison. John lee cowal was sentenced today for the 18yearold murder. The 18yearold was with two of her sisters at the time. One of them was also stabbed in the attack but she survived. She spoke after the Court Hearing and gave her reaction to cowell being sentenced to life in prison without parole for the killing of their baby sister. What i want him to understand is the pain you inflict on people or anybody it dont never go away. My family and my ancestors dealt with pain that has been inflicted on us for years and nobody has been accountable. Now Everybody Needs to know that be accountable for what you do and your actions. Cowells lawyers had argued he was insane but the court ruled earlier this year that was not the case. In the south bay the newest group of san jose Police Officers is getting a lesson in race and social justice. A lesson many hope will help build a better bay area. Abc 7 reporter chris wynn has the story youll see only on 7. Reporter a different lesson is being delivered to the graduates of the San Jose Police academy. Sjpd has teamed up with colleges and Community Groups to help make new Police Officers more aware as to how they might be perceived in the community. New officer dexter gymerson came to san jose from savannah, georgia. I understand people have preconceived notions about Law Enforcement. When they see me i want them to see them. Reporter its the culmination of months of training as these 42 new officers prepare to enter the field this weekend. They need to get an understanding as to why our Community Feels the way it does. And only then are we going to be able to do better. Reporter these officers were trained how police have historically been used as instruments of government discrimination dating back to the enforcement of policies such as japanese internment and laws related to jim crow. The District Attorney spoke today about one of the more controversial officer involved shootings in sjpd history which involved amen tale ill vietnamese mother in 2003. Were not going to be able to build that bridge between Law Enforcement and community if were not willing to talk to each other, open to listening and learning about this history. Reporter also leaders from the church who came to share perspectives from the black community. They are new to the this world and getting the training out the gate i think is showing the transformation happening. Hp reporter this officer recognizes the current landscape and hopes to be a part of the solution. I really want to learn and i can show the community im there to be there for them. Reporter Uncomfortable Conversations that will hopefully lead to greater understanding. Chris wynn, abc 7 news. If you have not filled out the census yet you may soon get a knock on your door. Thats because theres a new push under way to get bay area residents to reply to the census before more targeted measures are taken in august. Abc 7 News Reporter jr stone has the story. Reporter the end of july was supposed to be the deadline for everyone to respond the u. S. Census questionnaire but covid19 threw everything for a loop. News about the coronavirus overshadowed census day on april 1st. Outreach efforts were stalled. We are diligently still trying to get people to respond. That is probably the hardest part of the census is getting people to respond. Reporter statewide 63 of residents have responded either by mail, phone or online. The figures are better in the bay. Santa clara, marin and contra costa counties have a selfresponse rate of about 71 . But San Francisco is lagging at 60 . 1 or 2 is devastating for our county. If we just ended the census right now we would lose so much in services for things like section 8 housing, funding for our schools. Reporter in general counties lose about 2,000 in federal funding each year for each person that is not counted. If a fourth of the population does not reply Santa Clara County could lose 1 billion in funding each year. With covid19 and everything that comes with it were going to see revenues decline even more. So to have on top of that an undercount would just be devastating. Reporter to avoid an undercount a more targeted effort will start on august 11th for those who have not filled out the questionnaire. Census takers will begin going to homes and conduct in person interviews of residents to get census information. In 2010 people were willing to open their doors. Right now i dont believe people will be opening their doors because of fear of government, because of fear of the virus, so i am very concerned about the level in which people will be willing to participate. We really need to push as many people as possible to respond right now. Reporter jr stone, abc 7 news. Now, the census is still hiring people to do inhome visits. You can find more information at 2020census. Gov. The deadline to fill out the census has been extended to october 31st. The weekend is just about here. It is here. The weather looks pretty good as well. Abc theres this gametime internetting room. Nity. So fun. Wow. And then theres this workfromhome internetting room. Finally, the openconcept internetting room. This is not an open house. But your front door was open, so technically it is. Get the most inhome wifi coverage with xfinity xfi. Now thats simple, easy, awesome. Get started with xfinity internet for 24. 99 a month for 12 months. Or, ask about packages with speed up to a gig. Click, call or visit a store today. Happy friday, everyone. Lets talk about the weather. Its looking fantastic for the weekend. Blue skies and a good day to get out sailing. A lovely view. 70s for oakland, mountain view. Currently 80 degrees in san jose and our coolest spot is pacifica at 60 degrees. You can see why. The fog is there. 73 in santa rosa, 71 in napa. It is 82 in novado and livermore as well. Heres live doppler 7. It pretty much captures the stable which is us, it fog near the coast and the unstable near the sierra nevada. Beautiful view from our mount tam cam showing you the marine layer advancing so fogs and clouds overnight tonight. Warmer tomorrow with hot spots inland, and it is going to be cooler next week for most of the workweek. We still have an air quality advisory through tomorrow because of the mineral fire in fresno county, so expect moderate air quality for parts of the bay area, good for the rest of you. 7 00 tonight the fog is near the coast. It advances over the bay going into tomorrow morning. So 8 00 a. M. If youre going out for a walk or run, taking the dog out, it is going to be great walking weather first thing in the morning and then in the afternoon well hang onto the fog for those of you who enjoy it. If you dont we have plenty of heat for the inland valleys. Tomorrow afternoon its going to be a nice day in the south bay but a little hazy because of some of that smoke. 92 in morgan hill, 82 in milpitas. Temperatures in the low 80s from mountain view, 64 in pacifica. Some of that fog will hang around. 64 in daly city, north bay temperatures 80 degrees in san rafael, 82 napa, 86 in santa rosa. A lovely day in the east bay, warmer than today. 74 in oakland, 84 in fremont, head inland and this is where youll find the hot weather. 93 antioch, 90 in concord, and 93 in livermore. Accuweather forecast serving in the summer spread. The warmth will hold on on sunday, and as we head into next week notice those temperatures sliding. Its going to be cooler, cloudier with some drizzle but wednesday and thursday as an area of low pressure parks itself off the Northern California coast that will keep our pattern below average for a few days which is good especially for this time of year when we have fire danger running high. So well take it. The weekend looks good. Toasty this weekend. Thank you, sandhya. Theres a lot of ways to show that you care and one man is doing with were helping members catch up by spreading any missed usaa insurance payments over the next twelve months so they can keep more cash in your pockets for when it matters most find out more at usaa. Com the way that humans respond to musicternally and emotionally is what really can kind of unit some sound vibrations through the air even if we just do it once a week on fridays and just for fun its just so that we can make music right now. Were enjoying a stronger relationship with our neighbors because here we are. Were in this together. Coming up on abc 7 news at 6 00, the governors new criteria means most California Kids wont be heading back to school. Tonight what teachers say needs to happen to make Distance Learning successful. Also this is a serious, serious fire risk. Its not a joke. Its not a hoax. Words of warning there from a woman who contracted coronavirus not once but twice. And from 7 on your side a unique way to hire help with Home Improvement projects without having strangers come to your home. Thats all coming up on abc 7 news at 6 00. Finally tonight baking bread that was all the range during the first few weeks of sheltering in place, but one oakland man is still going with this. Hes baked dozens of loaves to give out to neighbors. He began with just five loaves oof the jewish bread, the next week ten and now he has signup systems and with some help from his family he makes as many as a hundred loaves. He had time on his hands during the shelter in place but its also about more than bread. The idea is that youre a human being, come and have a bread. And id love to see a world in which it doesnt matter how much is in your bank account you get to have whatever treats and delicacies and healthy food you want, and thats just part of the human contract. In total he estimates hes given out close to a thousand loaves of bread. Amazing. You can signup to pick up some bread on hala fo humanity. Com. The pickup day is friday, the traditional day to have hala. Perfect to see that as we head to tonight, the coronavirus surging across the u. S. New numbers coming in. Almost 500,000 new cases since this time last week. The unpublished white house document suggesting 18 states in the virus red zone should roll back their reopenings. Hospitals pushed to the breaking point. Reinforcements on the way in florida. 100 nurses arriving to help in miami. Plus, this powerful moment showing the reality. A husband losing his wife of 30 years. Their son sharing their final video together. The mask debate raging in parts of the country. 28 states plus puerto rico with mandatory mask orders. Also breaking tonight, californias governor with his new decision, saying more than two dozen counties on a watch