Coachella Valley coronavirus news and info | Tuesday, April 7

By
Casey Dolan
-
(?: Beatriz Hernandez)

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, and thank you for your continued support of Cactus Hugs.

As of 3 pm Monday, Riverside County officials have confirmed 946 people have tested positive for COVID-19.  There have been 25 confirmed deaths in the county.

As of 5 pm Monday, San Bernardino County has confirmed 530 cases of COVID-19.  There has been 16 deaths in San Bernardino County.

As of 9:50 pm Monday, there have been 16,363 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in California.  There have been 387 deaths in the state.

A new analysis from the University of Washington says California may see things peak on April 14, which is much sooner than past estimates. State officials still believe that mid-May is more likely.

In a YouTube video posted Monday night, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said that his department will not being issuing tickets to those who do not wear masks in public.”You will not be stopped or ticketed simply because you are not wearing a mask,” he said. “While this order does have potential criminal and civil consequences that is the last thing I want to happen while dealing with this crisis.”

A Riverside bus driver has tested positive for coronavirus.  A second driver has also been tested.

A lot of snow lis likely coming to the local mountains.  Snowplay is definitely not:

Meanwhile, in Washington DC:

The United States Treasury Department is preparing to ask Congress to swiftly commit another $200 billion to replenish a new small business coronavirus program that’s being overwhelmed by surging demand, reports the Washington Post.

In a letter sent to department heads including the sheriff and district attorney on March 26, Riverside County’s CEO George Johnson requested each department in the county cut spending wherever possible due to rising costs if services and revenue losses elsewhere during the coronavirus.

Borrego Springs is getting hit especially hard during the COVID-19 outbreak.  It’s killing business, while visitors from cities are still coming to town, bringing fear of contamination with them.

Analysts believe the Inland Empire housing market is among the nation’s least-capable of withstanding coronavirus fallout.  Based on affordability, equity, and payment making abilities,  Riverside County was graded with the third-lowest stability of the 50 U.S. counties with the largest populations.  San Bernardino County ranked 10th least stable.

“Every single event we had for March through the beginning of June has postponed, in one case cancelled.” – a wedding planner talked about the local industry with KESQ.

Congressman Raul Ruiz will hold a digital small business info session on Facebook today:

HAPPENING TODAY! ?Tune in at 2 p.m. PT for a small business information session with representatives from the Coachella Valley Small Business Development Center.

Posted by Congressman Raul Ruiz, MD on Tuesday, April 7, 2020

His opponent in the fall election tweeted this:

Taco Bell will give you a free taco today:

Allstate and American Family Insurance announced they will give $800 million back to their auto insurance customers because people are driving far less during the coronavirus crisis.  Allstate said it will refund about 15% of premiums paid by its customers in April and May, which comes to a total of about $600 million.  American Family Insurance said it will give back about $50 per car that a household has insured with the company via a one-time payment.

You can’t see Joshua Tree National Park in person these days, but you can take a virtual tour with Google Earth.

Finally, the Palm Springs-themed, stay-at-home underwear promotion that you have been waiting for is here:

That’s all for this morning.  Stay dry from the rain.  Stay safe.  Stay home. Thank you for continued your support of Cactus Hugs.

Important information:

Congressman Raul Ruiz has posted a list of local resources and information.

The Washington Post offers plenty of ways that you can help during the coronavirus pandemic.

If you see someone price gouging, there is now a number for that.

The New York Times has an interactive map where you can track every coronavirus case in the United States.

The Washington Post is out with a guide to what you should know about the coronavirus.

Schools are closed, but free student meals are available.  Here is the information on meal programs during this time for each Coachella Valley school district.

Here is a memo by the Department of Homeland security identifying critical infrastructure workers.

The United Way of the Desert has assembled a nice list of information and resources available during the coronavirus here.

These are scary and anxious times.  Be safe and kind to each other out there and, please, remember to wash your hands.

Anything we missed? Let us know about it.

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