hi, everybody. i'm dion lim and welcome to our daily interactive program called getting answers and today, as you may have guessed, it's all about schools. governor newsom laid out mandates across the board when it comes to public and private schools, so let's get a quick recap of all of them. safe in-person school based on local health data, mask requirements, physical distancing, dedicated contact tracing and riri schools can physically open for

in-person learning when its county has been off the state's monitoring list of 14 consecutive days. all other schools must begin with distance learning. now, as for masks, this was interesting, all staff and students third grade and above must wear masks and second and below are encouraged to wear masks and face shields. staff must maintain 6 feet of distance between each other and school days must start with symptom checks and must be hand washing stations, sanitation or disinfection protocol, all this with quarantine protocols and there will be a requirement to test staff regularly and the governor also emphasized that the state contact tracers will prioritize schools. back to distance learning, there must be daily live interacton with teachers and other students assignments must be equivalent to in-person classes

there must be adapted lessons for english language learners and special education. the state opening $5.3 billion to prioritize equity. i need to take a breather after all of that. okay, now with all of that being said, let's bring back state senator steve glacier. he did with state school superintendent tony thurman senator you may remember represents part of contra costa and alameda counties. i feel like you're on tv more than i am these days. >> nice to continue this conversation, it's a very important topic. >> indeed, it is, and we have a lot to cover. right away, let's get to it. you had expressed yesterday and also for a time that you had hoped that standards would be set, not guidelines specifically for each county and these school districts are feeling like they're in a state of limbo. did you get the answers you were

hoping for in today's news briefing. they're trying to make tough choices whether kids can be safe in their schools and the governor steps in as he did today to make sure schools are not islands in the sea. they are surrounded by communities. what happens in those communities can affect what happens in the schools. so the action today, if you are in a community when the is out of control and he said what all know, in-class was the best, the best way for the kids to learn and i'll go further and say, the the remote learning is a second class education. remote learning is a consequence of our inability right now to

kill this virus. >> to piggy back off of what you just said, there was a press conference with mayor london breed who said we are now here in the city on the state's watch list. so again it's number one to quell the spread of the virus, make sure we adhere to the masking rules. let's mention about the difference between distance learnings and in person learning. the governor stressed he has four children himself, he's a proponent, of course, of in-person, there's nothing that can be replaced to the same level. but a great amount of money being dedicated to this distance learning, providing wi-fi, connectivity. i don't know what that's going to entail. can you shed some insight into this? >> the money was allocated by the legislature to deal with the

inequities that's going to happen. not everybody has access to the internet. not everybody has access to a device. people come can be. $5 billion is is a lot of money. let's acknowledge again, remote learning is not the best. we have to hope we can get out of this and get kids back in the classroom as soon as we can but the key to that is contain this virus. we have to do what's necessary to close it down and that's the underlying problem that the schools, what's happening to the schools is a consequence. this virus is out of control in many parts of california and different parts of the california it's running out

hospitals. if the community in which the school exists by county, if the infection rate is going down 14 straight days, he would allow them the potential to have in-person education. but it's still fundamentally about a virus in the community and our inability to suppress it, and to get rid of it so we don't have problems in the businesses, employment, and for our kids in school. >> speak about the spread again in just a moment, but i do want to ask you about your 19 schools that are in your district. i know it's only been a matter of hours since we heard about these new mandates and the guidelines. what have you heard from members of your school district send their own response and oftentimes, he hear the school districts come too late and wish they had guidance earlier to prepare for this fall.

>> they've had heated school board meetings over the last week or so. the school board members have been put in an awful spot from parents who want their kids back in school, who don't fear the virus, who believe falsely kids can't get it and it's not really a problem. to those who feel like if all they offer is in-person, i don't feel safe sending my kid to school, and they have waited a long time. i think the governor should have acted sooner but i appreciate he acted today and remote learning will be the requirement, the virus is running rampant in your community. in my district, in contra costa and alameda county, most of the school districts that made the decision decided public health said we have to have remote learning. there are a few that were waiting. there were a few that had big debates and decided to defer for a little more time. i think that's going to resolve the conflict that they were facing, the parents against parents, and now we're going to

have to make the best of it. that's not going to be easy. >> it sounds like there is a need for a call for unity on this, especially given some of the pushback. i've also seen on social media and other avenues about wearing a mask. something as simple. i know we only have a couple more minutes left but you did want to address that importance as well and send that strong message. >> the governor did provide guidance if you're third grade or older, you have to wear a mask but under that, you don't, if you prefer you do, but if the kids aren't able to. but listen, it is the one way, the danger behind this covid-19 is that almost half the people who have it don't know they have it. they don't have the symptoms. that means they're walking around and yet they can infect people as if they had the raging flu, per se. so it's a very insidious virus

and it means that masking protects them from you and you from them. it's a simple thing, we just have to do it folks. people were wearing masks for the most part, but people that weren't being careful and for those of you over 65, who have every kind of compromised immune system, it's dangerous for you to be out because the consequences are deadly, so we really have to, we don't have a full shelter in place right now. some would suggest we do but we really shouldn't be out unless it's very much an essential activity. >> a clear and strong message from senator steve glacier. thank you for joining us once again, i'm sure we'll talk to you as this continues to evolve. when we come back, someone who does not agree with what governor newsom has done. and then we continue on our live

welcome back, everybody. we are hearing lots of reaction about reopening schools but not everyone is on board. assembly member kevin kylie. he joins us this afternoon. serves the sixth district. many thanks to you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. i appreciate it. >> you have been critical of governor newsom's stance for quite some time. you cited the california constitution here saying that education is a fundamental right

of each child, but this must mean you don't consider in-home learning, distance-learning as part of that fundamental right. >> quite the contrary. i've been among the foremost advocates for parents to have the option of distance learning even before the pandemic, but that's exactly the point is there needs to be that option and parents need to be able to make the decision that's right for their family, and unfortunately, with today's order, the governor has eliminated that option for the vast majority of families in the state. >> the numbers of coronavirus spreading in our state has been eye opening to say the least. san francisco mayor london breed with the explosion that landed on the state's watch list for the number of cases. you have said the student safety and that there's growing evidence that suggest the school

closures to flatten the academic curve. can you elaborate what you mean? >> what we know for sure is that the virus poses minimal risk to kids. it's not zero risk, but it's about on par with riding the school bus or playing on monkey bars, whereas on the other hand, there are substantial risks for extended periods of isolation, the american pediatric academy with issues of mental health and abuse, so forth. if that's the balance we're striking, and not considering the enormous effects of learning loss, the risk seems to weigh in favor of having the in-class option. there's also the issue of students spreading the virus, that's where i refer to the growing body of evidence that has done studies with countries that shut down schools versus those that didn't, to the extent in which young people serve as vectors for the disease and there is growing evidence that we're not sexually necessarily doing a whole lot of good by

shutting schools down. that's sort of my outlook, when you have very concrete and certain harms from shutting down schools and the weight of the evidence suggests you don't have a great benefit for it, then at that point, we ought to leave it in the hands of families to decide what's right for them. >> i have to play devil's advocate for a moment here because if you could cite some of these sources, that would be beneficial because i think in the news, we have talked about the transmission from kids to adults that has been at the forefront when talking about bringing kids back in israel. i know there's an outbreak right now but you can't speak specifically to the cases in israel, but does that not play a role? because the evidence certainly seems to be there that there has been an outbreak in that country. are you afraid of that happening in california

>> there's an unusual situation there, a number of very leading institutional researchers who have come out with studies. there was one looking at norway versus sweden, the different paths they took that said this doesn't really seem will help to some extent, you have to strike some balance. the harms are so severe, it's driven by special interest groups at politics, more than the science and the evidence. >> when it comes to that

balanced approach, the districts that want to stay open for in-person learning, but understandably necessarily need to be forever. a certain amount of students and staff and other faculty. does that serve as something you'd agree with? >> yeah, when we have accommodations, there's personal protective equipment being usesed aused and mindful of the students in the classroom and protect vulnerable student populations and teachers part of vulnerable populations. that's all just common sense but to say that we're, you know, the

only remedy or the only thing that's going to advance is eliminating the in-classroom option, that's not in the best interest of students as far as safety or learning. it's extremely likely there's more harm done to kids from the things the american academy of pediatrics cited like mental health issues, suicidal ideation, physical abuse, sexual abuse, all of these things that there's a greater risk of when you have extended periods of isolation. i think we can be certain that the harm of that is going to outweigh the harm of kids from covid-19 because at this point, and thank god for this, we haven't had a single covid-19 death for a child under the age of 1 8 in california. >> assemblyman kevin kylie, thank you for spending your time with us. we'll have you go on facebook

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thank you for staying with us. it was not just governor newsom making headlines today because san francisco announced it is now on the state's watch list. if they are on for three consecutive days, additional businesses must close and that includes indoor balls, and that would start on monday. governor newsom, joining me to break it down is abc7 news contributor phil matier, boy, we talked about this on the commercial break. lots to get to.

recommend that, urge this, urge that, set up guidelines this is a mandate. also, let's realize that in the bay area in particular it was looking more and more like schools were not going to open physically, and the students come in. district after district was saying the way it was set up between the money and the various herculean effort to prepare the schools, they weren't ready for it anyway. but it is very difficult for parents because what we saw today is the first step in what continues to be a very confusing path forward and that is even if the school opens, it could close again. what is the certainty we're looking at in the weeks and months to come, not only for the children's learning but the parents having to take care of them and juggle their work as well? >> phil, i can only imagine, it's going to take a tremendous amount of manpower in order to

monitor all of these mandates, for example, when you can once again reopen the number of cases and all of these mandates. >> what about the testing for teachers and staff? what about temperature taking coming in, what about the mask issue and the cleaning? nightly cleaning, daily cleaning, all of those things were being attempted to be addressed by school districts already and a lot of them were coming up short financially because they don't have the money and the state will be getting it to them. so there's a question about the money. how do you pay for all this. so it was going to be a herky jerky start, some coming in and out. it's still out there and possibly, this is going to buy

everybody some time to get these schools together for when they do open the door because i'm not sure they were ready to in the next couple of weeks. >> very own amy hollyfield was live in arindo who said educators were not prepared and hoping for the concrete firm guidelines and something else brought up was the need for safety to stop the spread. also, something that was echoed by mayor london breed. i know you're here to also speak about that as well. what were your reactions when you listened to her press briefing today? very strong message from her. >> well, it was sort of like, here we go again. it was deja vu all over again. we've got to mask, do this, we've got to avoid a congregation. we've got to basically behave rough and tumble and san and sad

francisco, and alameda county playing it safe all along. i wasn't all that surprised with what the mayor said, goes back to, the business person and shutdown time again and the uncertainty. and this is going to play a tumbling situation. wh >> what steps would you like to see taken? >> it may sound wonky but everybody wear a mask, wash, and minimize mixing. start with something basic like that and keep it going for an extended period of time. i still walk down the streets

and people have their masks on, but they're down on their chin. i still walk into stores, and people are close and you see them congregating, it's still going on. you want people to take it seriously, otherwise we're just going to have this fall back fall back. i would like to get some clarity from the state and locals in terms of testing. do we test, how do we test and for how long are the tests, all of those things are in there but that's going over people's heads. they're just waking up, turning on abc7 in the morning, see what's open and closed, what's going on that day like the weather. >> many people's heads are spinning. you're not the only one. phil, as always, a pleasure to have you on. thank you for being here. >> all right. >> a reminder, you can read phil's column in the

thank you for joining us on this interative show, "getting answers." earlier today, we heard opposing views to governor newsom's mandates and we certainly heard a lot from you on our live streams, unfshortunately, we cat get to all of them but the main headlines of what was covered in governor newsom's reopening of schools plan. you can see them on your screen. this includes that safe in-person school based on local data, changing on where you are. mask requirements, requiring a mask for everyone in third grade or above. physical distancing guidelines, also regular testing and dedicated contact tracing and rigorous distance learning.

we do want to remind you, we are here 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 re-openings. hospitals pushed to the breaking point. reinforcements on the way in florida. 100 nurses arriving to help in miami. plus, the moment, this husband losing his wife of 32 years. his son video. the mask debate rauj you're raging in parts of the country. 32 states plus puerto rico with mandatory mask orders. california's governor with his new decision, saying t