We are on storm watch now at 11. His family is across the bay area forced to stay home due to the coronavirus. Not just rain but snow covering the crf. Visiting your favorite ski resorts wont be an option for a while. A Prestigious InternationalExchange Program under fire. Why students accused a program of abandoning them during the coronaVirus Outbreak. A rainy weekend from families stuck at home. Storms across Northern California leaving a wet night in San Francisco and treacherous driving in the sierra because of snowfall. It has been a very rainy second half of the day and evening in the south bay in east bay. Look at doppler this is what it looked like at 5 pm. It looks like it now at 11. There is a focus for continuous ready moderate rain coming right and across the south bay and extending to the east bay. We will call out the same spots we have been doing all day. Fremont you are getting good rain. You got close to three quarters of an inch of rain today. As we look to the east it is still raining from there. As you work away inland all you have to do is take 580 or 680. It will be rain the whole way. With the windshield wipers going at a pretty good clip. Livermore that is what it looks like for you. Want us to stop . We will switch from live doppler watch the time up here. Watched a band of rain get pushed out overnight. Give it another hour or two. And then things will start to quiet down. Look what happens tomorrow. The showers come back. It will be different tomorrow. They will be isolated thunderstorms. Brief heavy downpours for some of us. We will talk about that coming up. Wait until you see the forecast for snow in the sierra. I will have that as well. The effects of the coronavirus being felt in the sierra on what would ordinarily be a popular weekend for skiers and snowboarders. Squaw valley Alpine Meadows heavenly north star in kirkwood announced they will be closing starting tomorrow. Each resort will work with guest and canceling their visit. And providing refunds. Sonoma county reporting the first case of Community Spread coronavirus. The county is recommending schools temporarily suspend in person classes for march 23 until at least the 27th. Health officials will hold a press Conference Tomorrow to discuss the latest case. A Prestigious InternationalExchange Program under fire accused of abandoning students amid the coronaVirus Outbreak. Maria with how fulbright students say they are being forced to flee to their homes on their own dime. Reporter a nine month stay in italy to work on his dissertation. Cut in half by the coronaVirus Outbreak. I didnt sleep for 36 hours. I packed my belongings and got to the airport. Reporter doctoral student joe said italy went into lockdown the Fulbright Scholar Program at the u. S. Department of state told him in others the program was suspended. They must leave as soon as possible and no later than march 22. If we didnt depart on time our grants would be terminated. We would lose alumni status in the fulbright program. Reporter as he watched flights being canceled and the uncertainty grow he felt pressure to fly out immediately to keep his fulbright status and preserve his work. I ended up buying a 4000 4500 oneway Business Class ticket to fly the next day. Reporter the problem joe another students claim fulbright left them on their own to find a way back home. With no extra financial help despite telling them they would get help. The scholars left with just the original money promised for the program. They remained in italy. Hoping they can leave by tuesday. This money i was planning on using for my life went to broken lease flights and basically making sure im out of this country safely. My biggest concern is i have to pay for healthcare as soon as i get. Reporter we press fulbright for answers. Received a statement that said in part while at the moment the primary focus is to ensure a safe return. The Fulbright Commission will certainly be addressing other related concerns in the days to come. It is not just the Financial Impact the students say is the issue. Im worried about endangering my family. Reporter many took to their instagram to join in their concerns that forcing them to leave the countries abroad actually put them and others more at risk of being infected with covid19. It is a Greater Health concern to us as we pass through other cities in italy. An International Airports and had to return to our family. Reporter the program does come with a 650 travel stipend the comes at the end of the program. The students say that is only enough under normal travel circumstances not an emergency crisis like this one. Joe said he does understand the commission is under pressu right now. He believes the state department could have done more to evacuate them. Google announced tonight it will after all work with the government on a coronavirus website. Something President Trump thanked the company for on friday. Google said it wasnt working on the project. In several suites googles now said actually it will partner with the u. S. Government on the website. Aimed at curbing covid19 they will have information about symptoms risks and testing. Fears of coronavirus are prompting stricter bands or large gatherings. Health officers in San Mateo County now banning gatherings of 50 people or more. Starting tomorrow until april 6 Contra Costa County announcing is banned prohibiting gatherings of 100 people or more. This order is intended is not intended to be punitive. A Health Officers goal is to firmly establish the critical need to reduce the spread of covid19 by increasing social distancing. The Health Department would not ask you to make these changes if there were not very important. This continues to be a time to remain calm and c. Still being prared. Coa cos e second most covid19 cases in the bay area with 29. Santa clara county has the most by far. 17 new cases announced today. Bringing the total they are to 91. San francisco announced five new cases today for a total of 28. Health officials stress this is not unexpected. As testing increases so will the tallies. A live look at sfo were in Alaska AirlineCustomer Service agent tested positive for the coronavirus. The employee left work tuesday. After coming down symptoms. The employee is recovering and doing well. The airline said in a statement safety remains our highest value. We plan to work with Public Health authorities in our partners at sfo to identify people who may e d prolonged co with the employee. We did try to get a comments from sfo but we havent heard back. A california congressman is reaching out to the Trump Administration to fix what he describes as Significant Health and safety hazards at Travis Air Force base. Those 800 cruiseship passengers quarantined at the base have dubbed the experience camp corona. Photos appeared to show scenes with little regard for isolation especially at mealtime. Harassment garamendi said the government is is to blame for a haphazard quarantine. He said who represents the area said the cdc and others demanding immediate action writing ive heard there are inadequate handwashing surface cleaning materials onsite from what ive been told. The only handwashing available to individuals is a bar of soap in their rooms. A new message from caltrans across california. The ectronic highway signs read covid19. Less is more avoid gatherings. More than 700 electronic signs throughout the state are displaying the same message. The vta is suspending School Transit service and reducing its light rail capacity by running one car trains. This decision was made after it was announced all Public Schools in Santa Clara County would be closed for three weeks. These vta scheduling changes start on monday. Bart said it is seeing quite the drop of ridership. New numbers from bart show a staggering 50 drop in commuters. They said on average more than 375,000 people ride the train on fridays. Lately ridership is down to more than 184,000 people. Bart is testing a nuclear option. They posted a video showing new personal hand straps. The idea is that each passenger bring their own strap and then clean it at home. They are still looking for Public Opinion on the idea before making it available to passengers. The bay area businesses getting hit hard as panic buying sends customers to those big box stores. Some of the bay areas biggest Tourist Attractions looking like a ghost town this weekend. We headed back out to the sierra where the snow is falling. A look at the road conditions. Dramatic choir music dramatic choir music dramatic choir music its the rush of relaxation. Introducing the allnew lincoln corsair. The coronavirus pandemic is hammering businesses of all sizes from wall street down to mom and pop things are so bad in oaklands chinatown some restaurants usually packed on a saturday night are closed instead. Reporter finding parking in chinatown is almost impossible. Especially on weekends. Here i am easily found a spot in the heart of chinatown. That is very bad sign for the businesses around here. This 7000 squarefoot Chinese Restaurant has gone dark for two weeks. The owner decided to temporarily shut down for the month of march after business fell off the cliff. 70 . 70 at lunch dinner time i think almost 90 . Reporter customer stopped coming fearing they could pick up thvirus by being too close to others. Tonys said the big biggest victims are employees. No work and no paychecks. They still have to pay the rent. Pay their food. It really hurts. Reporter many stores have either cut back on hours were temporarily suspended operations. Including a seafood restaurant. One of the biggest restaurants in oakland. A few doors down decided to close early at two. Not a single customer today. Just one customer yesterday. At her dry cleaning business. Reporter heres a look at the Renaissance Plaza in the heart of chinatown. Heres what it is like on the streets same problem across the bay in San Francisco foot traff some stores decided to close down for a few weeks. Those staying open say they dont make enough to cover their utility bills. I hope the government can help us. Reporter congresswoman barbara said relief is on the way. Low interest loans for Small Businesses and unemployment and if its for fair load workers. Some bureaucracy that with the designation of the National Emergency a lot of the bureaucratic red tape will be waived or relieved. Reporter she joint leaders from all ethnic groups in the africanamerican chamber to the Latino Chamber of commerce. The mayor said the nonprofit is giving no fee and no interest loans to Small Businesses. An extra time for repayment. We cant support Small Businesses during this health crisis. That is utilizing the internet and shopping online. Buying Gift Certificates for a better time which we also are very confident is ahead of us. Reporter what is good for Public Health may be bad for the economy. It is still safe to shop and eat out. As long as you follow health guidelines. Wash your hands often and keeping a safe distance from others. In oakland chinatown. In San Francisco tourism is taking a hit. Busy spots like pier 39 Fishermans Wharf are full of crowds. Today they were ghost towns. One entertainer who works outside appear 39 said his business has been down 50 amid coronavirus fears. For the wharf it has been down 80 . Those working in tourism today hope to see people coming out again soon. The same thing with the American Red Cross asking for healthy eligible people to show up again. Donate blood. Concerns about the Virus Outbreak rise in the u. S. American red cross is saying donations right now are vital to maintain a sufficient blood supply and prevent led shortages. As more americans test positive for the virus blood drives around the nation are being canceled. The number of people eligible to give blood to those in need could decrease. People making the most of their time away from work and school. Hitting the mountains. The jules and i am retaining a proper distance of the shot as we mentioned earlier ski resorts in the sierra will be closing starting tomorrow because of coronavirus fears. Those closings, as heavy snow begins to fall on the summit. Reporter the folks in gold run are striking it big with the snow coming down. He is glad fresh powder is arriving. We have been waiting for a while. We hoped that march would bring something. We havent had anything in 40 days. Reporter not everyone is glad to see the snow. It was going good. Im not used to coming up to the snow. It is coming down hard. It is time to go. Reporter semi Truck Drivers tell cbs 13 he is waiting for the snow to lead up for his own safety. I dont want to become a statistic of don r reporter is the way it is out here. Weve got food in the truck. Reporter he has had a good amount of customers coming in to get out of the weather. Now they are having to fight it once again the coronavirus is having an impact shutting down lodges. They all got disappointed with the lodges closing down ire trying to t back e to sto was there yesterday it was blue sky in gorges. You lucky. You really had great timing. Anyone who has to travel in the sierra today or throughout tomorrow has a major issue. The past is going to be shut down. Im going to show you that in one second. Look at the effect of a stalled out cold front of the bay area. Three quarters of an inch of rain. In fremont. We got barely a 10th of an inch in the north bay for santa rosa today. This has been focused down the south bay. You can pick out the numbers on your screen. Look at that firehose of rain coming up from the southwest are moving to the northeast and stationary over the south bay. I pointed that out at the top. I want to pull out the finer details. Not just the big orange blob here. If you get on the Northern Edge this very fine line. Of heavy rain racing up through vallejo. It is following 80 from vallejo on out towards fairfield and vacaville. If you look you can see there is our exclusive radar in the hills on mount bakker reading that line with an up close and personal view. When you come back and look at the big picture it is dwarfed by the stationary rain that it has been stuck over the south and east bay. It hasnt been downpour. The total three quarters of an inch of rain for about 5 to 6 hours of rain like that in the south bay tells us it has been moderate rain. It will continue like that through tomorrow. What i did was i played the future casts forward only showing with the accumulated rain will look like strictly for sunday. Take all those numbers we looked at. And then at these on top of that. That is your weekend total. This is sundays rain. But this only tells a part of the story. It will rain tomorrow. But mixed in with tomorrows rain will be isolated thunderstorms. Brief heavy downpours. Thunder. And some small hail. Dont be surprised about that tomorrow. That will be the north bay best bet for tomorrow. Most of the action was down here today. Tomorrow the north bay has a better chance of thunderstorms. The south bay watched a blue splotch. That is mount hamilton. It will be cold enough second half of the day tomorrow with the showers. We could see snow down to 3000 feet. That means a light dusting of snow on some of the hills around the south bay. Of course the real action is in the sierra. Everyone in red has a winter storm warning that does not expire until monday at 5 pm. The things to keep in mind with this snow level relatively low. Dangerous to near impossible travel. A couple snow will add up in the mountains. That gets us to near four feet of snow still to go. We show you pictures of the snow already today. There is another 40 inches to go. On donner pass by the time we finish with monday. A lot going on. We needed it. This is good news unless you have to travel in the sierra. There is the seven day forecast. A lot of rain is on it. We talked about sunday. Monday and tuesday have a chance for scattered showers. Then we get a break wednesday and thursday. Before the next storm gets here for late friday into next weekend. We could be looking at another storm next saturday. More on that as we get closer. How do we close the saturday night . I wish. That these highlights actually counted. At least tonight. When we come back i will tell you about this fellow. Shoo College Sports red alert for the pac12 conference which announced today they are shutting down its athletics for the remainder of the school year. Due to the coronavirus. They are following the lead of the big ten which announced the same move last thursday. Nba christian of the pistons has become the third player to test positive for the coronavirus. He joins utah rudy and Donovan Mitchell. He played against utah last saturdaysymptoms and is doing well. Speaking of mitchell. Who tested positive. Last thursday. One day after his teammate rudy wa