Coachella Valley coronavirus news and info | Friday, May 29

By
Casey Dolan
-
(?: Sue Farris)

Cactus Hugs has been tracking local stories about the coronavirus.   For a rundown of all of our updates, click here. Stay safe, stay at a good social distance.

Thank you for your continued support of Cactus Hugs. For ways to keep this website going (and free!), click here.

As of 3 pm Friday, Riverside County officials have confirmed:

  • 7,486 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.
    • 145 people have been reported to have tested positive in the last 24 hours.
  • 323 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus.
    • There were 10 reported deaths of people in the last 24 hours.
  • There are currently 202 confirmed cases hospitalized.
    • 62 of those people in the ICU.
  • There have been 4,563 official recovered cases in the county.
  • The county has conducted 112,412 tests.

As of 3 pm Friday, San Bernardino County has confirmed 5,034 cases of COVID-19.  There have been 199 deaths in San Bernardino County.

As of 4 pm Friday, there have been 106,531 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in California.  There have been 4,076 confirmed deaths in the state.

The numbers increase everyday.  They are more than just numbers.  They are people we have lost:

There has been a lot of talk about “herd immunity” and the coronavirus.  A preliminary analysis of antibody tests in the desert showed that 6 % of 896 tests tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies.  The percentage is the same as the 6 % of people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the Coachella Valley.  “There has been this question of if (COVID-19) could have already been circulating earlier than we thought, but our (antibody) positivity rate is running pretty much neck in neck with the swab rate,” the Desert AIDS Project infectious disease physician told the Desert Sun. “This means this is really the first wave of exposure we are experiencing right now.”  Bottom line: that thing you had in January probably wasn’t coronavirus.

Officials are once again allowing short-term rentals in Riverside County, with some new rules, including 24 hours in between rentals, deep cleanings required, and rentals are only allowed when its the entire home, so no renting out one of your rooms. KESQ reached out to the various cities to see what their plans were. Coachella and Palm Springs are in.  La Quinta is working on the details. Indio, Rancho Mirage, and Cathedral City would need to change their orders, which restrict rentals until different points in June.

Two California lawmakers are pitching legalized sports betting as a way to add revenue as the state faces tough budget decisions. The two are lobbying to put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that, if voted through, would allow horse racetracks and tribal casinos to also offer sports wagering, both at their locations and online.

“The pandemic isn’t over. But America sure seems over it.” The Washington Post examines the current state of America in a post you might want to set aside five minutes to read.

Riverside County will open 14 cooling centers on Monday with “modifications to accommodate coronavirus safety guidelines.” All visitors and staff will be asked to wear face coverings and practice social distancing.  Centers in the desert include:

  • Coachella Senior Center (seniors only), Coachella
  • Coachella Valley Rescue Mission, Indio
  • Martha’s Village and Kitchen, Indio
    Palm Springs High School, Palm Springs
  • Well in the Desert, Palm Springs

You can get more info on the cooling centers and hours here.

The city of Palm Springs is now on day four of council meetings trying to figure out their budget for the upcoming year. Several employee unions have agreed to defer cost-of-living adjustments for one year, which the city says will bring down the number of potential layoffs to 30 (from 48), as the deferral is approximately $1.4 million. The city is projecting a $76 million budget shortfall due to the coronavirus.

President Trump announced on Friday that the country is “terminating” its relationship with the World Health Organization…during a global pandemic:

I’m sure you saw the images during Memorial Day weekend of crowds partying it up while not wearing masks or practicing social distancing at a Lake of the Ozarks pool party.  Well,  officials have announced that one person has since tested positive for the novel coronavirus after visiting the Lake of the Ozarks area over the holiday weekend. The subject arrived at the lake on Saturday and “developed illness” on Sunday.  The infected person “was likely incubating illness and possibly infectious at the time of the visit,” the health department said.

Whole Foods has fired a an employee at its Tustin store who created a running count of COVID-19 cases in the company’s US supermarkets because neither the grocery chain or Amazon would make the information publicly available. She had worked at the Orange County location for  three years, but says she was fired on Wednesday for “time theft” when she took a 45 minute break to recover from a panic attack.

Restaurants are reopening around the Coachella Valley, Riverside County, and the country – which has left a lot of people asking: is it safe to sit inside a restaurant with the air conditioning running? The Washington Post has a nice article delving into that very question here.  For those without the time to read it, the best move is to sit outside (a non-covered patio if possible) and, if you are going to opt for indoors, look for a seat near an open window (not likely when it’s 110 degrees) or at least near the AC register or vent where air is being pumped in.

This Twitter account claims these are the most streamed movies by state since the beginning of the lockdown and, well, there are some surprises:

https://twitter.com/LightsCameraPod/status/1266427559425839105/

Finally…

That’s all for this evening. Stay safe. Stay smart. Stay home.   

Thank you for your continued support of Cactus Hugs.

These are stressful times for all of us. Coping with stress will make you, the people you care about, and our desert community stronger. This link has some resources to help with coping and also numbers to call or text if you, or someone you know, feels overwhelmed.

Please, take care of yourself and each other. You are important. You are valued. You are loved. ??

Anything we missed? Let us know about it.

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