little of the talk was about football. it was about everything else. john wanted to know about everything. >> john madden's death has already impacted the football community. roger goodell just made a statement, the commissioner said in part, nobody loved football more than coach. he was football. there will never be another john madden. we will forever be endebted to him for what he made football and what it is today. much more about john madden at 5:30 and 6:00. developing tonight, time to mask up once again indoors. about one hour ago, contra costa county announced everyone will have to wear a mask inside, no exceptions. previously, the county allowed groups of 100 or fewer to go unmasked. if you go to a gym, college class, be prepared to wear a

mask again. marin county plans to revise its exceptions. it will make an announcement as soon as tomorrow. san mateo never scaled back. officials say we are in the middle of a surge fueled by the omicron variant. skyranger was overhead, over the santa clara county fairgs. hundreds of people looking to get a covid test. it's not just long lines for testing but boosters as well. today santa clara county rolled out a new booster environment for anyone working in a high-risk environment, including hospitals, nursing homes, jails. we will have details on how the

mandate is a bit different from a similar one issued last week. >> the county's order applies to more people. >> our cases here in santa clara county are spiking. >> reporter: with the omicron surge arriving, today a new health order requiring all health workers in higher-risk settings get a covid booster shot by january 24th or be barred from working in those jobs. mandates will impact about 150,000 workers, and the county says the goal is to keep those frontline workers, including paramedics, healthy and available to help others >> what we want to do is ensure our health care workers and our health care system can absorb whatever hospital surge may be coming their way. >> reporter: the new order also imposes an earlier deadline in a similar state order and includes a group the state order does

not, those who work in shelters for the homeless. >> today's local state orders by requiring that workers in these and other higher-risk settings be vaccinated and boosted by january 24th. >> reporter: the county stopped short restaurants and other businesses require employees to be vaccinated and boosted. 52% of eligible people in the county have received a booster. dr. coty says with cases of the omicron variant spiking, she recommends you get vaccinated, get the booster. wear a mask indoors and make sure your home or office has adequate ventilation. and she says think twice about big new year's celebrations.

>> i would not recommend new year's celebrations unless they are small. >> a gathering she says preferably held outside. in san jose, marianne favro, nbc bay area news. the cdc is facing new criticism today after it significantly lowered omicron's prevalence in the united states. they said it accounts for 59% of cases in the country. previously, they said omicron made up 73% of cases. some experts say this shows how difficult omicron is to track but how poorly the cdc does at communicating within the agency itself. despite the criticism, we know this much. the omicron variant is still spreading quickly. within the last 24 hours, the u.s. has added 243,000 new

cases. fireworks over the bay is a light show that starts at midnight and looks like that. it is spectacular. it always draws tens of thousands of revelers. but late today the city issued a statement saying the omicron variant is so aggressive, canceling the pyrotechnics would help limit the spread of the virus and help frontline workers whose ranks are already stretched thin. one of the bay area's most-respected doctors is giving us a sense of how quickly omicron is spreading. the chair of ucsf's department of medicine says there's an indication of nearly a quarter of all patients admitted to ucsf's patients are infected with covid-19. >> they are going up in a way that is, i would say, breathtaking over the last week

or so. >> based on that data, he estimates roughly one in 14 people in san francisco would test positive for covid right now. one in 14. if everyone was tested. with the spread of omicron, let's talk about masks. coming up in ten minutes, chris kamura is going to break down which masks are keeping you safe from this new variant and if you should switch to an n95 mask. our other top story, you've been feeling it. the winter blast slamming the bay area. the rain is gone for now, but the cold remains. a live look at cameras around the bay area, a gloomy and chilly location. people in napa got a dusting of snow. robert handa leads off our coverage of our cold snap. >> reporter: we're here at a very busy and popular place when it gets cold here in livermore.

folks came looking for supplies and advice. there are a lot, i mean a lot, of choices for portable heaters on first street in livermore. jason dewitt is still working out his heater strategy for this cold spell. >> i did see they had some of the propane top directionals that i may come back and get to replace some older ones. >> reporter: is this kind of unusual for you to be doing this in. >> no, it seems like every year we're looking for new heaters. >> reporter: the ace hardware general manager says use your space heater carefully. >> keep in mind you have the power for it. they all take 1500 watts. you don't want to plug in too many at once or you may trip your breaker. keep in mind how many windows and doors you have. >> circulation being a key. >> absolutely. >> reporter: we saw a run on pipe insulation with advice from

a do-it-yourselfer. >> cover your outdoor pipes, and if you don't have any insulation, at least leave a faucet dripping a little bit at night. that will help keep it from freezing. >> reporter: plants also need a little more protection. >> what you really need to know is keep them wet. make sure they're watered. water will help them greatly. one other option, we have plant blankets so you can cover your plants in a hard freeze. we're going to be pretty close to a hard freeze. >> reporter: one other important issue to remember is despite all the stacks of portable heaters we saw, supply chain issues are expected to impact future deliveries, and ace says it will probably sell out its current stock very quickly. in livermore, robert handa, nbc bay area news. crews have been working all day clearing the roads after a record amount of snow. let's take a live look at i-80

near soda springs in the east bound direction. you notice something very different. traffic is on 80, because it is open in the eastbound direction. westbound 80 still closed over highway 50, that's reopened to drivers. we had a jackknifed semi up there on 50 today. that's out of the way. things moving on 50, that's 80. eastbound open, westbound not. what's going on? >> in those pictures from the sierras, can you see how high the snow is up on the side of the road. looks like a bobsled run. you can see behind me a lot of snow in the sierra, and we're still seeing snow at times, enough to have that winter storm warning into wednesday until 10:00, could see one more foot of snow. but good news for travel plans, once we get past tomorrow, less snow but more cold. single digit temperatures as we head towards friday morning. cold temperatures there, and

also around the bay area, three or four inches of snow around mt. hamilton. two to three inches in mt. saint helena. the skies are cloudy. not much rain right now. that will change as we head toward 11:00 tonight. and very likely the heaviest rain of tomorrow is going to be right there. more snow possible up around lake county and perhaps ongoing. another look at how much can you expect from the wednesday storm coming up in about seven minutes. >> be sure to head to nbcbayarea.com for the latest. we have what can move you forward before you head to the snow. including the latest chain requirements. the jury in the elizabeth holmes case has gone five days without reaching a verdict. they'll be back in court to resume deliberations tomorrow. the debate is on outside the courtroom, is this a sign the

jury is sharply divided, or are they hunkering down to thoroughly and thoughtfully consider her fate? >> reporter: one point made by a legal analyst is that in five days we've only had one brief question from the jury and one request to re-listen to some audio. she says that means at the very least the jury is for the most part on the same page. >> elizabeth holmes will have to wait at least another day to learn her fate, after five days of deliberating, no verdict yet. >> and i don't think we should draw any conclusions yet. >> reporter: but former prosecutor michelle hagen says a jury that takes a while makes sense here. there's a lot of data to go through and a lot on the line. >> they faced cameras every day. i think they understand this is a high-profile case, and it's a serious case. so i think they're trying to be

very thorough and just go through everything. >> reporter: and there are 11 counts faced by holmes in the endiemt. >> i think the jury is just methodically going through all of the counts. >> reporter: in san jose, scott budman, nbc bay area news. we have a team of reporters following this case. as soon as the verdict comes down we'll send an alert to your phone. if you have our app. legal analysis right here on nbc bay area. still to come, where is rory ange lot at that? the skier went missing christmas morning. and are your cloth masks enough to keep you safe during the surge? why some doctors are pushing for to you change your face covering.

it's a mask debate of a different kind. a cloth mask versus n95. some doctors say it may be time to switch to the more-structured n95. at the beginning of the pandemic we were asked to reserve those for health care workers. some doctors say a basic cloth mask may not offer enough protection. instead some are advising people double mask more switch to an n95 or kn95. let's check in with chris kamura and take a quick face covering refresher course. i think we all need one right about now. >> class is in session. face covering 101. let's spend the next 90 seconds covering the topics.

first, when. california department of public health is going to require a face covering in all indoor public settings until january 15th, that includes school, work and public transportation. several counties have added a few exceptions of their own. at least two of those counties announced they're going with the safe guidelines for now. what about outside? the cdc recommends we try to keep six feet apart in public places. if you can't stay at least six feet apart wear your mask. you have options, good, better and best. a cloth mask is good, as long as it has three layers. cdc says wash it at least once a day. now a surgical mask is going to be better. ideally, though, as terry was just talking about. a surgical mask plus a cloth mask on top. again, surgical first, cloth on top, not the other way around. read the directions for how long

you can use and reuse a surgical mask. the best mask for preventing covid-19 includes the n95, kn5 and the kf94. if that's new to you, it was new to me. it is a south korean standard. they all offer roughly the same amount of filtration. now let's talk about how to wear your face covering. she's doing a pretty good job right there. the main thing is the seal. a good fit and filtration continue to be the most, the best way to get the most out of your mask. doctors want the edges of that mask to contact your face, so all the air you're breathing is filtered on the way in. and this type of n95 mask right here, be this is from the instructions. it has two bands here. you have to make sure that you use both elastic bands around

your head. leaving one dangling down might diminish the seal. you can use it until it's dirty, damaged or difficult to breathe through. no quiz here, but i hope were you paying attention. >> i was, and that was more than just a refresher course. >> i had no idea about the south korean ones. i'll warn you about the kn95. some in the government are saying there are lots of counter fit once for sale. be careful. it is happening again. some courts in the bay area are closing at least partially. a judge has ordered a freeze on new jury trials in contra costa county. those already under way can continue. the court cites covid concerns

and seven staff members have recently tested positively. this comes at a bad time, because they were making progress in the backlog of cases from the last closure. the freeze will be reevaluated in mid january. lake tahoe. 43-year-old rory ange latta disappeared. he works at a ski shop. well, today, rescue crews ordered additional search crews to look for ange law at that. they're having difficulty because of heavy snow. take a live look at conditions in the sierra. it really is beautiful. too much for some. the snow lab located on donner pass says they got 202 inches of

fresh snow alone, and that is a new all-time record. rob mayeda joining us. >> it is the top three since 1970. it set the all-time december record. we're in the top three, and we've still got another maybe foot of snow that could come down across the sierra tonight. and it's just super sized the snowpack up to 159% of average, and there's reason to believe that might get closer to 200 next week. as the pattern stays active. we're going to get a little bit of a break for new year's eve, but then the rain and snow make a big comeback next week. it is chilly outside. it feels like the sierra around the north bay, with highs in the mid to high 40s. south of livermore we did have a little dusting of snow earlier, 45 degrees, and the view from

walnut creek, there's mt. diablo, hiding out in the clouds. right now we're seeing low 40s across the north bay. you factor in the wind and the wind chill or feels-like temperature outside is more like the upper 30s at 5:00. we will see temperatures in the 30s and 40s, not quite as cold, as we're going to have rain move back in. a bit more mild with temperatures overnight, but highs tomorrow upper 40s near 50, mid-40s around napa. storm ranger really not showing a whole lot at the moment, that will likely bring periods of moderate to steady rain for the first half of the day, at least more than a half inch of rain to an inch, plus we think up around the santa cruz mountains as we go through the next 24 hours. we're going to have more rain than what we saw today. then as we head around this time

tomorrow, showers moving from north to south, clearing skies setting the stage for cold temperatures. this is the coldest that we've seen, perhaps as much as some five years by the time we get to friday and saturday. can you see progressively trending colder into the low 30s, maybe upper 20s in a few spots to ring in the new year. it's going to be extremely cold in the new year. good weekend for the sierras, there, and by sunday we'll begin to see increasing clouds, and we talked about the chance of seeing a lot more snow. monday through midweek, storm door is open and stays open. rain and heavy sierra snow on the way by the time we leave the first weekend of 2022. so we're catching a break after tomorrow. rain changing to showers. thursday through saturday looks dry but cold. even san francisco could have 30s. look at those.

low 30s, patchy frost, freezing temperatures possible through the weekend and the storm door springing wide open again. those storms keep coming in. it's a stormy pattern bringing the snow likely down to 4,000 feet at times for much of next week. >> keep that door open because we still need it. rob, thank you very much. coming up, trading places. why you could have the ceo of doordash deliver your meals. that's next. r we learn about covid-19,

the more questions we have. the biggest question now, what's next? what will covid bring in six months, a year? if you're feeling anxious about the future, you're not alone. calhope offers free covid-19 emotional support. call 833-317-4673, or live chat at calhope.org today. (soft music) hey dad, i'm about to leave. don't forget your hat . good morning. how can i help? i need help connecting with my students. behind every last minute save, ok, that works. and holiday surprise, thank you! a customer service rep is working unseen,

making it happen. and at genesys, we're proud to help them help you everyday. doordash employees will soon be trading places. the san francisco-based company is making all its employees do a dash once a month. talking about engineers, other

desk workers, even the ceo's going to be going out. market watch first reported the program called "we dash." it is meant to help employees learn first hand about their impact on their local economy. we all know that living in the bay area is pricey. so it's no real surprise that retiring here means you need to have more money in the bank. san francisco requires the biggest nest egg of any metro area in the entire nation. more than $1.5 million. it's photo finish for the next three spots, honolulu at $1.37 million. and who knew that santa cruz is more expensive than new york city. coming up, getting rid of your christmas tree just got easier. the annual tradition in the city that tips off next week.

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trees are not hauled to the

dump, they are recycled and chopped into mulch. set out your tree on your regular collection day and feel good about the local park that will be getting all of that refreshing compost. janelle is joining me now for what is coming up at 5:30. right now, at 5:30, we continue to follow the breaking news, football legend, john madden, has died. we'll look back at madden's amazing life and career throughout this newscast. not everyone is onboard with the new cdc guidelines that calls for cutting in half the timetable with covid needs to isolate. >> how do we know what this infectious period really is, in order to be safe to return people to work? when the omicron variant is affecting young people. you may want to hold off on booking that cruise. lots of ports don't seem to want them. >> i feel like i