a little earlier i spoke with ucsf epidemiologist dr. george rutherford and i asked him, what these new covid-19 numbers mean, and if it seems like the spread is beginning to level off. >> what we know is that cases are falling in the bay area, slightly. and that the proportion positive is going down so that speaks to their being less transmission. now that is as of today, you know, there may have been, we may have been transmitting and we just are not seeing the cases yet from over christmas. but i would hope that we will be able to keep up what we are doing, we have some other data that would suggest there really was a bending down the curve, kind of coincident with the shelter in place order on december 6. there is a lack of a couple of weeks and we start to see the effect of it. >> i know the governor released new numbers and i think come

you know, infection rate is down, i think positive testing is down, positives are down. what about i see you? >> there is unfortunately a three-week pipe plan, so whoever is infected today is going to show up in icus three weeks from now, or if they will show up, it is three weeks from now, so while we are doing a really good job we are on the front end of staving off infection. there still people in the pipe and that will continue to show up. and they will continue to be pressure on i see you, so the governor also discussed various ways that they are using to decompress the hospital to's see some of the acute care. with temporary facilities, to create more inpatient space to take care of icu patients. >> we are going into another holiday weekend, we have new year's eve coming up here, overall, it sounds like based on

numbers of the last two weeks that people are getting the message, any prediction, will we see a spike again? >> i hope we don't see one, i think you're right that people are getting the message, 80 to 90% of californians seem to get the message. and are socially distancing and avoiding even small parties and their houses, and i hope we can continue to do that in two this going forward. we will not have the rose parade, were not going to have a bunch of new year's day stuff so that is, you know, that will save us some temptation but it is, you know, i think it is kind of touch and go right now, friendly. >> thank you for your time, appreciate it. by the way the state of california is teaming up with cvs and walgreens to vaccinate residents and staff at long- term care facilities. workers from those two pharmacies will go directly to the facilities to administer the pfizer vaccine. statewide, cvs will vaccinate nearly 500 nursing homes in the first phase of the

program. while walgreens will hit an additional 357 facilities. >> this new federal pharmacy partnership will allow the vaccination beginning today, of our most vulnerable californians, particularly in our skilled nursing facilities. there are two phases of this pharmacy partnership that is focused primarily on the skilled nursing facilities as the first cohort of focus. >> and with cvs and walgreens hope to offer the vaccine to the general public when there are enough doses a little later this year. the governor says there will be consequences if people try to skip ahead in the vaccine line. he issued a warning to medical workers who may be tempted to give someone a shot before they are cleared to the states priority system. anyone caught doing that could lose their license or be banned from distributing vaccines.

some hospitals in southern california are pushed to the breaking point following the christmas weekend. michelle reports how health officials are calling the situation catastrophic. south end hospitals according to officials are bursting at the seams. with christmas over and new year's on the way, doctors are worried about a flood of new patients and how to care for them. >> is going to be a breaking point, and i just don't know when that will come, and when it does, it will be catastrophic. >> reporter: he is the chief medical officer, for k pc health which has seven acute care medical centers in orange, riverside and san bernardino counties. the icus are full. one-on-one care is a of the past, due to massive caseloads. resistance along with ethics committees, and legal teams

inside of hospitals are discussing how to ration care if things get too bad. >> everybody is anticipating that what is happening after christmas and now with new year's coming this week that we are going to be significantly challenged by this and this will be a process that will be very actively in place, and most of our local community facilities. >> reporter: he explained that as resources continue to be stretched thin, physicians will begin to prioritize who gets what level of care for something almost unheard of in the u.s. primary to the pandemic. he says it is already happening in some cities where the crush of covid patients has overwhelmed the healthcare system. >> an example could be, if we have an 85-year-old patient, and a 30 and a 32-year-old patient and both of them are in need of a minor -- a monitor bed with a ventilator. based on this criteria and the evaluation of survivability, that younger patient may end up with that ventilator and that team to take care of them.

>> the state has started several field hospitals, to help with some of the patient overflow. >> in san jose a man is dead after police say he was likely the victim of to hit and runs, officer say saturday evening, dr. of going westbound on story road hit the pedestrian. then took off. they say a second driver in a honda word also hit the man, and also took off. police say the victim was not in the crosswalk at the time. they say san jose's 46th fatal traffic crash this year. 500 busy battling a crossfire san leandro early this morning. here's look at the damage, this one broke out about 5:45, on navy street. the crews cleared the structure and had the fire knocked down in about 30 minutes. >> some california sex offenders may be eligible for early parole under a ruling by the state supreme court today. they ruled inmates who have been convicted of nonviolent sex crimes may qualify for

early parole consideration, as part of the ballot measure approved four years ago. former gov. jerry brown says it was never intended to cover sex offenders but lower appeals courts have ruled they cannot be excluded from consideration, and the high court agreed. coming up, boeing 737 max is getting ready to fly. passengers for the first time in nearly 2 years, but will people actually get on board. why lottery players are rushing to buy scratch off tickets right now. coming up, all new tonight at six, it is pretty obvious, not everyone is following the travel quarantine rules, so what is the best way to stay safe if you do

the boeing 737 max data set to take to the skies for the first time in nearly 2 years. american will use the jet tomorrow on a round-trip route from miami to new york. the 737 max was grounded after two deadly crashes. the flights come after the u.s. federal aviation administration approved changes that they made to the aircraft. however, some travelers are weary. 57% of americans said they were not likely to fly, and a boeing

737 max when they were informed about the plane's history. tonight, chevron is on the hook for $147,000 for air- quality violations in the bay area. the company agreed to pay the bay area air quality management district to settle violations at its refinery in richmond. the deal covers 29 notices issued from 2016 to 2018, for things like odor, nuisances, and an excess of visible omissions. the district says all of the violations that led to settlement have now been corrected. this update from cal fire, the ccu lightning comforts fire that burned through santa crews and san mateo counties is finally controlled. the fire burned over 86,000 acres and destroyed almost 1500 structures. it started back on august 17. today, over four months later, according to cal fire, there is no longer any danger of free ignition. coming up next a silver lining this year, if you have

holiday gifts you want to return. and kpix5 wants to bring you the good news happening in the bay area, go to

new report suggests prince harry and his wife, megan, are looking to extend their royal exit deal which comes up for review next year. the current arrangements often step back as new royals in march, and moved to california. the couple quickly dove into charity work focusing on those impacted by the pandemic. >> i think people miss him and people feels that he was not here with the rest of them during coronavirus. >> the other worlds are said to be unhappy about the lucrative deal they have struck with netflix and an upcoming podcast on spotify. some holiday gifts you may have received may have missed the mark and if you are looking to take them back, cbs reporter has some tips from retail experts. >> reporter: the changes we saw during the shopping season continuous people start taking items back. many stores are enforcing limits on the number of shoppers. >> there taking time to let us in one at a time.

>> the good news plenty of retailers are giving consumers more time because of the pandemic. >> they are extending the return window so patent you to amazon, apple, bed bath and beyond, best buy, all the big stores have extended their return window. >> reporter: keeper -- keep receipts and understand the policy. >> what condition does that item have to be in? this attack have to be on, does have to be in original packaging? etc. >> if you are setting -- sending back a gift, read the fine print and see if the retailer offers a free return label. it is important to remember that items should face some of the same delays we saw during the holidays and it may take time to receive a credit or reimbursement. and people looking to exchange a gift can find some low prices right now. >> items will be significantly discounted so not only do stores have excess inventory from the holidays, they even have excess inventory from the walls so you will find deals

anywhere between 25 and up to 75% on apparel and shoes for example. >> reporter: that could give shoppers a chance to treat themselves for post holiday gift. one more note on returns, some retailers are offering a curbside option. lucky you. a lot of us are looking forward to the end of 2020, and new york city today, it was the annual good riddance day. held in times where people were encouraged to write what they wish to leave behind the 2020 and then completely shut it. >> so let's say good riddance to the coronavirus, drop it on them there. awesome. and there it goes. there it goes. and throw in the shredder, say goodbye, drop it down in there. thank you so much for being here. >> i want to say goodbye to work and to covid-19. >> gun violence on the streets. >> i think those are great things. throw them in the shredder.

let's get rid of them. goodbye. >> the new year's eve party in times square is canceled this year but you can still watch the ball drop through an app. it allows you to make an avatar, and be a part of all the festivities you can pick from nine cameras, to watch the ball drop and interact with a virtual times square, all from the warmth and safety of your own home. you can download it at, all from the warmth and safety of your own home. you can download it@vnye.com. all right, tend to take a look at new video, and animal success story. this sea lion named jenya was just released back into the wild at rodeo beach in marin headlands. the headings of year shark bite wounds. likely to get away from that, and the acid poisoning. this guy is super lucky. he was rescued last month at san francisco's aquatic park. five weeks of intensive rehab at the marine mammal center and

plenty of fish. he is one of more than 400 seal and the lion patients the center has cared for this year alone. >> have you been out there to the marine mammal center? >> i have many times, it's very cool. >> a top-notch facility it makes you wonder why, some go in the water and go, yeah, i think i'm going to go back. they have a beautiful hotel up there for them. and the weather department, a little bit of rain but not much as we look tonight at partly to mostly cloudy skies, and as we look through a lens for silly, i guess, concord right now 53 degrees, livermore has 51 and in san jose 53 degrees. temperatures have cooled a little bit but tomorrow it will be above average. isn't that beautiful? look at that shot from hytop to salesforce tower camera. rainfall totals did not amount to too terribly much but that is because the rain we had up here mostly haddad or, rather, headed south. in fact, in santa barbara we have this lovely video that was

taken but, about 75 minutes ago. that is been patterson avenue right they're off 101. it is usually fairly dry but all it takes is 1.7 inches of rain and about 18 hours and that is the result. that is beautiful videography. look how nicely that shot is held. anyway, unusual lose for drought stricken santa barbara and you can see y is happening. the low pressure that was commenced the came close to us, around big sur. it moved south and as a result they get some rain, get some thunder, and it will all head to the east, even in farrago. they have 507 inch of rain. for us, as you saw we managed maybe attempt to 2/10 of an inch. future cass shows a little bit more on the way. by the time we get to thursday, at 4:30 am, we will have more showers moving in over the bay area but that is wednesday night and thursday, tuesday is

looking pretty good as high pressure temporarily replaces the low pressure that is been over the west coast, so tomorrow is nice, most of wednesday is nice, we continue to drive but for tonight, chilly skies, chilly skies, chilly temperatures, it will be patchy fog, a little bit of frost around and temperatures will be down to freezing in santa rosa for overnight lows are going to be dry tuesday through most of wednesday and wednesday night early thursday, a few sprinkles, not a big deal. light rain for wednesday night. kind of a repeat performance of what we had in terms of totals from this last system. overnight lows tonight freezing in santa rosa, down to 35 degrees, in fairfield, 32, and in livermore 34 degrees, and san jose down to 39, high temperatures tomorrow will be warmer than average, these numbers are about five degrees warmer than we usually see this time of year, 62 in santa rosa, or 62 in fairfield, wishful thinking, 59 degrees in livermore and 60 degrees in san jose and we welcome in 2021 with mostly clear skies, temperatures will be in the mid- 40s around midnight on thursday

night. in the extended forecast, wednesday night, thursday, a sprinkle or two and then the new year comes in with some clouds around, maybe even a chance of a few sprinkles by late new year's day. the weekend looks unsettled, sandy, sunday, rather, it has been a while since i've done this. it is going to be happening, it looks like a little bit wet for sunday and monday will go to partly cloudy skies, and ladies and gentlemen, it is now time for bay area bright spots. gosh, there they are. this is from gary and debbie's place in alameda. the harbor isle neighborhood. they would like you to start a gofundme page for them because they need to pay their electric bill. just kidding but they probably have a high one. that is extraordinary. look at that. if you like to share yours, we will be doing this for the first so if you would like to share your own bright spot, send videos and pictures to bay

area bright spots at kpix.com. now, i know that new year's day is coming up, but we don't want you to party to hardy. and that is why andre is next with a cautionary note. new at six we are not supposed to party for new year's but a lot of people are anyway. advice from experts on how to do it as deeply as possible. plus the edd nightmare continues the new verification company says it is having a 90% success rate but we found the numbers just are not adding up. is a huge coronavirus donation from an unlikely source. how the monterey bay aquarium is chipping in. all that and more ahead at six. still ahead

feeling lucky? bay area lottery players are rushing to buy lottery tickets. don ford on how the pandemic is

fueling sales. >> reporter: here in south san jose the cafc modest, low-key establishment but last saturday, they sold a lottery ticket that turned out to be worth $18 million. that's right, 18 million. on a single ticket. the cafc did not want cameras inside, would not comment on the lucky number. there cut to the winning prize is $90,000. that tickets still has not been redeemed, still floating around out there, isn't it? >> that's exactly it. the timeline for somebody to come forward is always varying. some people don't realize they win, or some people want to think about the next steps very carefully, i encourage that. >> just down the street, folks were just hearing the news. >> i've been in this neighborhood over 30 years. >> 18 million. >> it's not mine.

so, boy, that is amazing. >> the winning ticket was not even sold here yet people are buying lotto tickets left and right. they are also buying lots of scratchers. >> just last week we hit an all- time high for scratcher sales in one week in our 35 years of existence. >> reporter: normally think about 90 million a week but these are not normal times. last week was 129 million scratchers sold at those are also paying out big. >> we have recently somebody here in the sacramento area who won $10 million playing a scratcher. >> reporter: all lottery games combined means there is nearly 3/4 of $1 billion in play this week alone. >> that ticket has still not been claimed. >> i don't blame them. i would wait and try to find a way to do it greatly, you know how things are today but you are going to get a lot of relatives that you do not have before. >> in san jose, don ford,

kpix5. california is preparing for a possible post holiday surge of coronavirus cases in southern california. hospitals are already running out of beds. could the bay area be far behind? >> impact of this virus, this pandemic, is being felt on the entire hospital system. this new year's eve, stay home but if you decided to go out, then health experts say make good choices. >> we can debate with the consequences are worth it but the consequences are there. >> we have some more rain on the way, we have timing and in fact it looks like a series of systems are coming in by the time we had the weekend. we have the details will recover the forecast in just seconds. good evening, i'm ken bastida. >> let's start with the new numbers. california has most covid cases in the country right now, reporting more than 33,000 in the past day alone. the positivity rate and

hospitalizations are also up. have live team coverage tonight starting with devin fehely in san jose. >> reporter: i'm outside the emergency operations center where they are planning their response to the pandemic. now the governor says by the end of the month, essentially by the middle of this week they will have nearly 2 million doses of the vaccine here in the state of california, each one of those doses represent hope, but we are also left with the grim reality of right now which is too many people getting sick and not nearly enough beds or people to care for them. >> this partnership is so important. >> the two pharmacy chains will be in charge of administering the vaccine to some of the states most vulnerable populations. in particular, seniors living in nursing homes and care facilities. >> we went into this partnership with cvs and walgreens, it is the scarcity of staff, we di