i'm raj mathai. next tonight, a lot of updates regarding the covid surge. indoor masking, schools, and even the status of the super bowl in l.a. and more kids are in the hospital because of covid. how concerned should parents be? and trapped at sea with a possible outbreak. >> i think the only reason is because the shows were canceled. >> why passengers of the san francisco bound cruise shipment say they feel left in the dark. plus, jimmy g with a blunt assess bmt his injury. >> it hurts. >> the latest as we approach the game of the season. >> good evening. this is nbc bay area news

tonight. there is a lot happening and changing this evening. it's easy to get overwhelmed with all the rising numbers and new covid guidelines. keep in mind, it is not nearly as deadly as it was last year. that is progress. let's walk you through the headlines. big announcements from the state of california. first the statewide mask rules are here to stay. california extending that order until at least february 15th. so right after valentine's day. it was settle to expire next week. you must wear one in most public indoor settings, whether you're vaccinated or not. health leaders will look at hospitalization rates to guide their decision when to end these mask rules. what about a lockdown again for businesses? as of right now, it won't happen. governor newsom is not considering another lockdown so businesses can stay open and schools can stay open as well. another headline from the state. unfortunately, hospitalizations

are on the rise. this is the key data point that will drive many of our rules and decisions from these state leaders. statewide, more than 8,000 covid patients are now in the hospital. it is important to note that still less than half the number hospitalized for covid during last winter's surge. california is bringing in 1,800 first responders from other states to help with the various staffing shortages. what about bed space? we took a look at our bay area icu space. all counties have beds available. it range from four beds in napa county to dozens of beds in other places. and what about the super bowl? yeah. the big game is about five weeks away. scheduled to be played down in l.a. at sofi stadium. but there is a back-up plan. california's top health official says, quote, mitigation strategies are in place to ensure this game will be held

safely down in l.a. that includes fans wearing masks. however, the nfl is acting independently. the league is reportedly discussing a back-up location. the home of the dallas cowboys. at&t stadium in arlington, texas. >> let me be clear. the super bowl is coming to l.a. i think californians are excited to see that event occur and the work is to make sure that as it is moving forward as planned, that the mitigation strategies create safety around that event, that they're in place. >> he said the super bowl is staying in l.a. but it is not up to him. the league can pull it and move it to somewhere like texas or florida. regardless of where the super bowl is, you can watch it right here on nbc bay area sunday, february 13. we're going much deeper on the covid impact in the bay area.

before we do that, we want to update out the breaking news we brought you last night. a freeway shooting in oakland. another one. this is the third deadly shooting in the last few months. tonight we hear from the sister of david nguyen. she's the alameda sheriff's recruit shot and killed last night on 580 in his car approaching the bay bridge. he was a san francisco native. a son of vietnamese natives with dreams of being in law enforcement. his sister said her 28-year-old older brother was passionate about law enforcement and was part of the california army national guard. nguyen completed months of physical drills and training courses and was just one month away from graduating from the sheriff's academy in alameda county. >> when i got the call about my brother's passing, i thought they were joking.

i just want people to be safe and be happy and my brother would want the same for everyone. >> and we want to extend our condolences and our gratitude for barbara nguyen for speaking with us tonight. the chp will not confirm whether this was a road rage incident, a targeted attack or something completely different. he was not wearing a uniform and was driving his personal car, a toyota prius at the time. when will this freeway violence end? here's some of the latest. last month 23-year-old jasper wu was shot while riding in the back seat with his mother in oakland. a few weeks later, 29-year-old amani morris was shot. her fiance was driving and her two kids were also in the car. no arrests in any of these three cases. let's get back to our covid coverage. we talk about testing positive but also testing itself. the demand in the bay area isn't letting up. long lines almost every where you go.

check out this hayward site. our sky ranger was overhead. hundreds of cars. if you look below, that is the hayward airport. hundred of cars trying to get into that big testing tent. these cars lined up for several blocks. in fremont, a free covid test giveaway attracted so many people, the fremont police had to warn people to avoid the area. this is at the fremont unified school district headquarters. hundred of parents lined up on foot and also drove up by car. ultimately, officers had to shut thing down and just send people home. >> it is recommended you go home and try again tomorrow. >> i think it is good. you can't buy these tests anywhere in stores right now. and there are a couple weeks until you can get a regular test to be scheduled so this is helpful. >> yeah. it is hard to get the testing kits because they're sold out almost everywhere you go. and getting a testing site and a

scheduled appointment is difficult as well. fremont unified, the parents do have another chance to pick up their free testing kits tomorrow from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. if you're lack form covid testing site, we're here to help you. head to nbcbayarea.com or our nbc bay area app. we've compiled a list of sites broken down by county so you can find a site close to you. some of our bay area schools are running into problems. we've learned a spike in cases prompted the temporary shutdown of some schools in contra costa county. hundred of kids at martin luther king elementary in richmond are being shifted back to virtual learning for the time being. the summit making that decision after ten of the students in several different grades tested positive on monday. >> a lot of positive tests. covid-19 tests.

for me, it is better study at home. >> yeah. stay at home. it so challenging though. especially for working parents. late this afternoon that list of school closures got even longer. parents were told every one of the 54 schools in the west contra costa school district will be shut down on friday and on monday for deep cleaning. the schools include richmond, deanza, hercules, and mira vista elementary. all those schools shut down on campus on friday and monday for the deep cleaning. we're also seeing teacher shortages. yesterday alone, san francisco was down teachers for 400 of its classrooms. late today, the state summit he's putting together a task force to address the teacher shortages. there's a lot going on here. let's bring in one of our experts. doctor, nice to have you on the

program with. so going on. let's start with the teacher. they don't want to get sick. i can feel for them. various doctors and parent want the kids book campus. what's the medical perspective? >> you know, two years into the pandemic and with the availability of really highly effective vaccines, that prevents severe disease, the question is what is the tradeoff of being in school, teaching, and also, the fact we have children vaccinate now, 50% in san francisco, for example. between 5 and 11. so it is going to be a question of a tradeoff that every society and city is making and many societies are saying, we need to keep our kids in school. some cities are not though. >> when do you expect the peak in the bay area? two weeks away or a month away? >> so the models, if we look at south africa and the u.k., is

that it will take one more week to start peaking. so mid january. and then come down by the end of january. when will we get through this miserable time? hopefully by the first week of february we're getting through it. what does it do? it built a huge immunity wall. even those of us vaccinated, boosted, if we get it, infections that increase our immunity and it builds immunity for those who are unvaccinated. >> from your patients, anecdotally, when i speak with my family members who are positive, so far they say their symptoms are mild. from boosted and vaccinated people? >> yes. not only mild but more mild than the breakthrough infections we saw in delta. and that's interesting. it has to do with this ability to infect lungs. there is something inherently more mild about omicron that's different than delta.

not just our rising immunity. it is a more mild virus. >> in terms of what is happening now, in terms of hospitals, are we in crisis mode in terms of bay area hospitals? >> no, we're not, actually. as you know, l.a. county, for example, reported yesterday, 67% of the people in the hospital with covid just found it incidentally in their nose. why? we swab everyone who come into the hospital for covid. we want to put them in a different room than other patients. but we will swab someone who even comes in for something else. today there was an analysis that 70% of people in the hospital are there on incidental, they have in it their nose. but 30% are actually there for covid. and there were about 30 patients so ten there for covid. the final question, the state says more kids are heading to the hospital. is that happening in the bay area? >> the same phenomenon.

children hospitalized for other things, just found in the nose. so for example, dr. noble of the e.r. did an analysis this morning. of the 13 children in the hospital with covid, just one were there for covid and the others just had it in their nose. >> we appreciate your guidance and perspective with all this. good evening. >> if you want to know your covid stats at your child's school, we've got you covered with our covid school dashboard. head to nbcbayarea.com. to go your home page. it will tell you the information for your child's school. stuck on a shipment with a possible outbreak on board. can you imagine? we did it a couple years ago, now it's happening again. the cdc is telling people to avoid cruise ships because of omicron. what about those already at sea? a princess cruise ship will dock tomorrow in san francisco and

some say there's an outbreak on board. this couple tells us they've been isolating in their room on the ship for the past several days. they separated themselves after learning the shipment's enter teenagers were quarantining because of an outbreak. the couple from mountain view said the view hasn't followed promised precautions. he even called the cdc to warn them. said he finally got help from a public health worker. >> he finally found something called a mega event. he was able to take a report and give me a tracking member so that's the only thing i have. especially now that they're denying anything ever happened. >> he sounds pretty distressed. you've spoken with this guy there mountain view. is he ticked off at the cruise line or is he concerned? what's his tone? >> i guess part of it is it is more the conduct of the crew and maybe for him, a lack of

information in terms of what they're telling him and the status of other people. for example, they heard about the entertainers and they had to because the shows were canceled. and they wondered if that was the main reason to find out about that. when they asked, what is the status of other passengers and the overall situation, they felt like they couldn't get any answers and of course, when you're already scared or paranoid, that just feeds into it. i will say that just before we went on the air here, they reported that they did get a negative covid test for diane. so that's good news for them. >> that's good news but what a miserable vacation. what happens tomorrow? the ship will dock in san francisco. is there protocol? what have we heard? >> well, i know that the san francisco public health department is basically in charge of taking care of complaints and anything going on there. as you might have heard in my

story earlier, he went through many agencies before he finally ended up at the san francisco health department who did do the mega event listing for him so it got recorded and he got a number so co-find out what was going on. but it shows how hard it is for agencies to figure out the unique circumstances of cruise ships. and that was why he ended up getting essentially the run-around. >> this is how it all started two years ago when we had the cruise ship dock in oakland as well. we should add, the princess cruise, we've reached out to them. no call back from them. still to come, the biggest game of the season. will jimmy g be ready? >> the winter olympics, one month away. less than a month away. will it happen this february?

we're back in a moment. you're watching nbc bay area news tonight.

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okay. the game of the season. and will jimmy g be healthy enough to play? sunday in los angeles with the 49ers beat the rams, they're in the playoffs if they do. but there's a lot going on in santa clara. let's bring in anthony flores. >> reporter: talking spirals to george kittle.

jimmy garoppolo was limited sgs he injured his right thumb almost two weeks ago against the tennessee titans. number ten did not hold back when describing how painful it is to throw football. >> it [ bleep ] hurts. >> reporter: the bottom line, it's too soon to say if garoppolo will be healthy enough to play in sunday's showdown against the rams. if not, trey lance will make his second start in a row. home kyle shanahan is in no rush to name a starter. >> i haven't made it now which is the truthful i will probably make it before the game starts. >> whatever i can do to be out there, i will be out. there at the same time you have to be smart think and about what is best for the team. >> the season comes down to week 18. win and they're in the playoffs. they could still back into the post season with a tie or if the saints lose or tie against the falcons. in santa clara, anthony flores. nbc bay area.

a little gamesmanship for the 49ers. let's talk about the winter olympics. yeah. they kick off in less than a month. in fact, opening ceremony is february 4th. if all goes as planned, janelle will be heading there to beijing. with omicron surging across the globe, is there a possibility that the olympics won't happen? here we go again. we did this in tokyo about six months ago. whats the latest? your bags are almost packed. >> right. they postponed for a area but they are not postponing this one. it is full steam ahead. a lot more safety precautions. you had to quarantine for 14 days? >> yeah. and then free to go. >> we will be quarantining the whole time i couldn't see the great wall of china. >> so a big circle around the venues and the hotel center. >> it's like when the nba was in that covid bubble last season. the same thing. we're stluk the entire time covering our local athletes.

>> but all things going forward, they are happening. let's talk about figure skating. it is all about the bay area. i don't want to sound like a homer here but it is a big deal. >> it is. and we will know soon. the u.s. national championship begins tomorrow in nashville and there will be six people. three women and three men for team usa in the individual competition. and half could be from the bay area including 21-year-old vincent joel of palo alto. he finished sixth but he has only gotten better. for the ladies, she nearly always podiums in competitions but finished 11th in pong chang. and then this young phenom. she's the youngest ever national champion. winning her first time at age 13 and then at 14. and she actually spends part of her time training at oakland ice. >> do you know what's so cool? they have role models still in the bay area, peggy fleming,

kristy yamaguchi. >> let's talk about the bay area. we always claim it. >> a lot of snow boarders. they're both from truckee. they grew up as neighbors. travis just missed the podium for down hill in sochi. unfortunately he was injured and couldn't to go pyeongchang. and then bryce bennett. 6'7". look how tall he is. >> you're pretty tall. >> i'm 5'8". he did not podium in pyeongchang. back then he was young and care-43. now he said he's wiser and more focused. we want to talk about half pipe. david wise and -- >> i remember from years ago. >> this will be his third olympics and her third olympics if they make the team. they're both free skiers in the half i'm that. and she got bank robberies in

pyeongchang. they're both hoping for their third straight olympics. >> wall that's going on for covid, it will be a great opportunity to get our minds off it and watch the olympics. >> and watch team usa. >> and we'll be watching you in beijing. >> thank you. when we return, a live look at the bay bridge on this chilly but beautiful night. rob will have the sunny forecast headed our way.

any parent will tell you the second you have a kid, it's like your heart is living outside of your body, which means you never, ever stop worrying. that's why we got health insurance and for way less than we thought was possible. the kids' doctor and dental check-ups are free, and i get screenings for my cholesterol and my blood pressure. don't get me wrong, i still worry. just a little less. covered california. this way to health insurance. enrollment ends january 31st at coveredca.com welcome back to nbc bay area

news tonight. how about that? that's nice. really nice. fresh video, fresh powder from heavenly today in south lake tahoe from our photo journalist. rob mayeda is here. he's a good skier, by the way. it's beautiful. >> a little more snow coming in on friday. unlike before, this is about two to four inches of snow coming down. it won't cause problems on the roadways. and then the skies clear for the weekend to enjoy another two to four inches of new snow heading toward the sierra. our concern could be patchy fog. we'll be watching for the morning commute. upper 40s to low 50s. not too chilly outside. we may see 50s again tomorrow. upper 50s closer in san francisco. and livermore, the next chag of rain coming in for the north bay, quickly clearing the bay area. by the afternoon and evening, the rain showers move out. notice the seven day rain showers just in time for the

sierra. the temperatures start to climb into the 60s again early next week. >> that sun felt good today and looks good later as well. that will do it for us at 7:00 and for join here including our managing editor. thank you for joining us. enjoy the evening.

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