Abruptly close today an east bay das office ready to investigate complaints on covid restrictions. Schools in new york city abruptly close day while local School Districts adjust their reopening plans. Why one district still wants to bring cases back. The annual Christmas Tree lighting was held in union square. Ill tell you why you probably didnt know about it. Abc 7 news at 11 00 starts right now. Announcer building a better bay area for a safe and secure future. Tonight an east bay county is about to get tough when it comes to following new covid safety restrictions with cases spiking in Contra Costa County. Yes, a task force is ready to investigate and fine businesses not following the rules. Cornell barnard is getting the information tonight. Reporter burger loft, a surge in covid cases has put Contra Costa County in the purple tier. Employees know the rules. Make sure theyre wearing masks. Wash their hands 200 times a day. Reporter not every business plays by the rules. The Contra Costa Countys d. A. s task force has already received 100 Health Complaints in the last two weeks. Were worried aboutface masks and social distancing. Reporter scott alonzo says the task force is prepared to issue fines from 100 to 1,000. Freddy sanchez likes the enforcement. Its important to have people who are making sure that were doing whats right. Reporter anyone with a Health Complaint can email or call the d. A. s hotline. Please use a message detailing any suspect and or company information. Reporter but some say that hotline is a bad idea. Right now people are pretty angry about a lot of issues that may or may not have anything to do with that particular business. If youre not happy with something, you have the option to leave. We know the businesses are really struggling right now so were not trying to be punitive. Were trying to ensure the public is protected. Reporter the d. A. Wants educate merchants about the health order. If that doesnt work, theyll take it to the next level. New alt 11 00, the u. S. Coast guard cutter stratton was forced to return after 11 crew members tested positive for covid19. The sick crew members have mild symptoms. Stratton was on deployment. It had departed for the eastern pacific in october. Crew members were required to pass two covid tests. The entire crew was tested and all are quarantined now. In the north bay all of wine country went into the most restrictive tier, thats purple, today. Its a big adjustment in napa county. The county plummeted two tiers. Daily covid19 cases per 100,000 people have more than tripled since last month. Wine merchant adam housley says hes frustrated. Im upset the way the whole thing has been handled. Ive been told you have to do it this way and two days later its this way. Napa county is particularly vulnerable because it relies so heavily on tourism. Restaurants cant offer Indoor Dining and wineries are allowed only outdoor operations. Tier changes could happen one day of the week and change again later in the week. Its a fastmoving situation. Keep track of where your county stands on reopening with our interactive tracker on abc7news. Com. Tonight the United States crossed another unthinkable milestone. Yes, more than 250,000 people have died from coronavirus. And a record shattering 79,000 americans are hospitalized because of it. The spike in cases is forcing the nations Largest School system, new york city, to go back to remote learning. And getting answers on how schools will reopen and stay open during the pandemic is a key part of our effort to build a better bay area. Matt boone explains how local School Districts are adjusting plans. Reporter new york city is taking major steps again to combat the virus, announcing today that all Public Schools would shut down. As much as we are unhappy today that this moment was reached, we are resolved to keep fighting. Reporter it come z as many counties reverted to the restrictive purple tier while some schools will be allowed to operate in person classes, piedmont unified has suspended their plans. This is 100 a county decision. So, we were slated to return. Reporter piedmont superintendent Randall Booker says Distance Learning has been wearing students down. Were having many students struggling socially and emotionally. Reporter he wishes they can bring students back. Testing for all staff, prescreening for all students and staff, lots of logistical information about entrance and egress. Reporter in sf Public Schools have remained closed. We want to send our kids back to school. We know thats the only way theyre going to get the learning they need. But many of our kids are so immunocompromised but we just cant. We cant wait until science proves that covid is fully gone before these kids can get back to school. The commissioners did approve a reopening plan but not until january 25th. Matt boone, abc 7 news. New details tonight the quest for a covid19 vaccine. Pfizer is expected to seek fda emergency approval for its vaccine by the end of the week. New data shows it is more than 95 effective. The vaccine made in conjunction with biontech. Between this vaccine and others, he hopes a majority of the United States will be vaccinated by next fall. President elect joe biden met virtually with Health Care Workers today to discuss the coronavirus response. Abc News Reporter reports it comes as President Trump continues to fight the election results. Reporter today a warning from the president elect to the outgoing president , that a refusal to transition can hamper efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic and distributing a vaccine. Theres a whole lot of things that we just dont have available to us. Unless its made available soon, were going to be behind by weeks or months. Reporter biden today holding a virtual round table, game planning how to gather critical support to frontline workers. I have not been tested yet, and i have been on the frontlines in the icu since february. Youre kidding me. No. Reporter bidens now operating without many resources often given a president elect. Some republicans are calling for President Trump to at least grant him access to briefings. Most are silent as trumps legal team launched hail mary lawsuits in battleground states. So far uncounted votes have been found in four counties, netting President Trump more than 1,000 votes. But president elect biden still has a roughly 13,000 vote margin lead there. The trump campaigns also requested a recount in two heavily democratic wisconsin counties, milwaukee and dane. Biden leads in a state by roughly 20,000 votes. Abc news, washington. And more than two weeks after the president ial election, bay area officials are close to having counted all of the votes. The numbers revealing how this election was different from those in the past. Reporter all nine bay area counties saw voter turnout above 80 . Solano was just over that with 80. 68 , marin reaching almost 90 turnout. That put on par with 2016 but a little less than 2018. Santa clara county saw the highest turnout there since obama ran for his first term. San francisco saw historic numbers with 86. 23 turnout. Thats the same turnout percentage as 1956 when eisen hour won reelection. San mateo, 1968 when nixon won his first term. Also making this election historic, the pandemic of course. The numbers show vote by mail was extremely popular. In alameda and contra costa counties, more than 75 of voters cast their ballots by mail. More to come here. The pandemic will not take a break for thanksgiving. Experts share how you can still celebrate the holiday safely. Plus still shining bright, the very different Tree Lighting ceremony tonight in san franciscos union square. Im meteorologist sandhya patel, tracking dense fog for the morning commute. Ill let you know about chaengs ahead for your weekend coming up. Thank sandhya. All thats ahead. But first heres a look at whats coming up tonight on Jimmy Kimmel Live right after abc 7 news at 11. Jimmy. We did it again. What kind of sheets did elvis have in that . I dont remember the sheets because i was too busy looking up because there was a mirror on top of the bed. I was looking at that and thinking, well, this could be fun. How can i, when you wont take it from me you can go your own way xfinity mobiles fast nationwide 5g network meets the first iphone with 5g. Get the new iphone 12 on xfinity mobile. And right now get 250 off. Learn more at an xfinity store today. Thinking about your fi. So are we. Prudential helps 25 Million People with their financial needs. With over 90 years of investment experience, our thousands of Financial Professionals can help. Go to prudential. Com or talk to an advisor. I have the power to lower my blood sugar and a1c. Because i can still make my own insulin. And trulicity activates my body to release it like its supposed to. Trulicity is for type 2 diabetes. Its not insulin. And i only need to take it once a week. Plus, it lowers the risk of cardiovascular events. Trulicity isnt for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. Dont take trulicity if youre allergic to it, you or your family have medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. Stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, changes in vision, or diabetic retinopathy. Serious side effects may include pancreatitis. Taking trulicity with sulfonylurea or insulin raises low blood sugar risk. Side effects include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, belly pain, and decreased appetite, which lead to dehydration and may worsen kidney problems. I have it within me to lower my a1c. Ask your doctor about trulicity. Gathers with family for thanksgiving. Its an american tradition. It is and a wonderful tradition. But this year Health Experts warn that even small get togetherers indoors can be risky. Were all in trouble. And in fact this is a potentially life threatening situation for our whole country. Top Health Officials and experts are pleading with us to take measures to stay safe over the holiday. This thing looks look a mask. Its actually a medical device that can be life saving. Think of it that way. You wouldnt hold back on that if you thought you could help somebody. Keep those distances where they need to be, six feet or more. Other advice, have thanksgiving dinner outdoors, limit the amount of people and the amount of time youre together. San mateo county Health Officials say new evidence shows our increases the longer wereoe together. Cumulatively if youre in a room more than two hours and youre taking on and off that mask, there seems to be a large increase. What you should do is have people eat in various places in the house hold with their own family pod. As painful as it might be, experts say for many americans, it might be best not to come together for thanksgiving at all this year. My 100 medical opinion is that we need to sacrifice our holidays this year. We need to stay at home in our own personal bubble for thanksgiving, hanukkah, christmas and new years. Its just a tough reality this year. Do you know what the riskiest holiday tradition is this year. Test your knowledge and weigh the risks with abc 7s exclusive holiday risk calculator. You can find it on abc7news. Com and the abc 7 app as well. The pandemic has forced many changes to holiday traditions this year. Yeah, just got to be safe, dan. Take a look. On the left, last years crowds packed san franciscos union square for the annual Tree Lighting ceremony. Tonight on the right, a much different scene. J. R. Stone reports it was yet another sign that its a year like no other. Reporter weve come down to union square where the Tree Lighting ceremony is about to happen, but much different look. Check out behind me, less than 20 people down here for a private union square Tree Lighting ceremony. I guess tis the season in 2020. On the left is how crowded union square usually is for the lighting. On the right is what it looked like wednesday night. Its not the same. Its certainly bittersweet, but we thought it was important to still move forward. If i was describing 2020 and i said tis the season, if you could finish that sentence, how would you finish it . To be over. Reporter tis the season to be over. But in the 2020 covid pandemic, anything can happen. There are signs of that in union square. Boards on the windows at victorias secret. The union strike continues outside of macys. Yes, very, very loud because of that. But the 83foot tree with 33,000 lights and 1,100 ornaments sure is a sight to see. As for the holidays it would be nice if covid would be over. Reporter there you have it, 2020 Christmas Tree lighting here in union square, and really not many people to actually see the tree all lit up. But it sure does look spectacular with the sweet sounds coming from the union strike. In san francisco, j. R. Stone, abc 7 news. Still makes you smile when you see it though. It does. Well, a recent more than a foot of snow to some ski resorts. Tonight Road Conditions are still dangerous if you plan to head up that way. Chain controls are in effecttttt i80. Sandhya. Yeah, dan and ama, well over a foot of snow for some of the resorts. Just take a look here. 24 hour totals. Sugar bowl, 12 inches. 16 inches squaw. Alpine, 15 inches soda springs. Definitely a good thing and hopefully this winter we see a lot more snow. Right now the snow showers were taperingment there were chain controls just a few minutes ago bullet that is changing now. Live doppler 7 very quiet. Earlier today we did have scattered light showers. Once those showers parted ways, look at the beautiful view. This is a time lapse from our emeryville camera. 4 55 the sun went down and the colors were gorgeous along with the clouds. So, we had a nice mix of showers and sun. Heres a look at visibility now with the low level moisture in the wake of the storm. We do have visibility that is down to a quarter mile. Dense fog has already formed. Definitely be careful tomorrow morning. Temperatures right now, 40s, 50s, much cooler than yesterday at this time. And from our exploratorium camera, we have a good view of san francisco. Areas of dense fog for the morning commute. Cold mornings, mild days through the weekend. That fog first thing tomorrow will slow down your commute. 5 00 a. M. To 8 00 a. M. Is where the thickest fog will be around in the valleys and the fog starts to peel away as we head towards noontime. A little bit north wind will warm us up. A few degrees warmer than this afternoon. First thing tomorrow morning is going to be chilly so pack on the layers. Upper 30s to low 50s and watch out for that fog. Tomorrow afternoon, 57 in half moon bay. Low 60s, san francisco, san rafael, 64, santa rosa, concord, 63 in oakland, 62 in san jose. The sun is going to get filtered by high level clouds. High pressure in command for the upcoming weekend. Itll divert the storm track even though a system tries to get into the northern portion of california monday morning. Its not going to quite make it. So, we get left high and dry right on through the middle of next week as that ridge is going to block any storm systems from coming in. Stay tuned to accuweather 7day forecast. Chilly couple of mornings ahead. Coldest mornings will be friday, saturday and sunday and frost as well. Afternoon highs in the 50s, 60s. Pleasant weather. Not a lot of change early next week, but well see the temperatures going into tuesday and the dry pattern continues on wednesday just before thanksgiving. Ama and dan. Thanks sandhya very much. Coming up, see the a fanfavorite venue ever since they got gigspeed internet. Xfinity gives them the ultimate home field advantage. Its their 12th man. Protector. Hey, amy . Want to grab a seat . Julie, were live. Its game on with gigspeed internet from xfinity. Start him, sit him, trade him. Simple, easy, awesome. Get started with xfinity internet for 19. 99 a month for 12 months. Plus, learn about gigspeeds from xfinity. Click, call, or visit a store today. Subut when we realized she wasn hebattling sensitive skin, we switched to new tide plus downy free. Its gentle on her skin, and dermatologist recommended. New tide pods plus downy free. Safe for sensitive skin with eczema and psoriasis. Tonight, try pure zzzs all night. Unlike other sleep aids, our extended release melatonin helps you sleep longer. And longer. Zzzquil pure zzzs all night. Fall asleep. Stay asleep. An adorable owl caught a ride to new york city on a Rockefeller CenterChristmas Tree. That face its believed this north north h whey oul survived for days. The owl named rockefeller is at a Wild Life Center and will soon be released back into the wild. I love those eyes. That is so cool. Those intense eyes are fascinating. Larry beil is here with sports. Excitement and despair on nba draft night for the warrior. Thrilled to get a big man but 100 beef and hearty chili. Try my 5. 99 chili cheeseburger combo. Its pretty delicious. This ones for you. You inspired us to make your humira experience even better. With humira citratefree. It has the same effectiveness you know and trust, but we removed the citrate buffers, theres less liquid, and a thinner needle. With less pain immediately following injection. Ask your doctor about humira citratefree. And you can use your copay card to pay as little as 5 a month. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections. Serious and sometimes fatal infections,. Including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened,. As have blood, liver, and nervous system problems,. Serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections