Coachella Valley coronavirus news and info | Wednesday, August 12

By
Casey Dolan
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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 Wednesday, Riverside County officials have confirmed:

  • 43,983 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.  607 people have been reported positive in the last 24 hours.
  • 853 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus. The county reported 29 new deaths in the last 24 hours.

The county notes: “Because of a statewide delay with data collection, the figures displayed for “Confirmed” COVID-19 cases, case rates, positivity rates, doubling time, and number of tests do not accurately reflect the current situation.”

Here’s the latest from the Coachella Valley:

As of 4 pm Wednesday, San Bernardino County has confirmed:

  • 38,290 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.
  • 555 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus.

As of 4 pm Wednesday, the State of California has confirmed:

        • 589,205  people have official tested positive for COVID-19.
        • 10,699 people are confirmed to have died in the state of CA from the coronavirus.

For the first time in months, the number of new coronavirus cases in the U.S. has steadily fallen over the past two weeks.  But, it’s hard to say if the number of cases are actually dropping or if its simply less being reported as testing shortages in key states and other gaps in COVID-19 data call into question the accuracy of those numbers and whether the outbreak in the U.S. is really improving, epidemiologists say.

Months after originally bringing up the idea of needing more space for restaurants outdoors, Palm Springs is considering closing down streets like Palm Canyon or Arenas Road to give local restaurants more space to serve customers.  Council members met with merchants this week to “gather input,” according to KESQ. “One of the proposals that came out today was just closing maybe one lane of the traffic to give restaurants on both sides a little more space and then there was talk of maybe closing two blocks from Tahquitz to Barista where there are so many restaurants to give them more space,” the mayor told the TV station.

The county allowed for HOAs to reopen pools in the county in May, but the Mountain Gate community in Palm Springs has so far kept their three pools closed to residents.  Now, those residents are angry. “This is unbelievable,” a resident told KESQ. “This is about abuse of power and control.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom expressed frustration during his press conference on Wednesday about lack of social distancing in the state.  He said crowds at the American River near Sacramento recently made it look like “spring break.” “We’re not minimizing mixing. It throws shivers up my spine,” said Newsom. “Here we are making all this progress, and it can be done away.”

Newsom did announce some positive news, saying that there has been a decrease in COVID-19 hospitalization rates in the last 14 days, with a  9% decrease in coronavirus hospitalizations and a 16% decrease in ICU admissions..  “This is what gives me some confidence we’re moving in the right direction,” he stated.

A North Carolina dog died from COVID-19 complications last week, officials from the state said on Tuesday. The dog’s owner took it the vet as the animal was having breathing problems.  They told staff it had earlier tested positive for the coronavirus and recovered. A test for the dog came back positive at the vet’s office, according to a local CBS affiliate. “Based on the information available, the risk of animals spreading the virus to people is considered to be low,” said the state’s Public Health Veterinarian.

A Southern California landmark has reopened:

In a pair of dueling events today, President Donald Trump and the Democratic ticket of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris spoke of taking on the coronavirus.  In her a speech after officially being introduced as Biden’s running mate, Harris proclaimed, “there’s a reason it has hit America worse than any other advanced nation. It’s because of Trump’s failure to take it seriously from the start.

Meanwhile,

The election is 82 days away:

  • You can register to vote here.  
  • Sign up for updates on your mail-in ballot here.
  • Sign up to be a poll worker in Riverside County here.

Finally…

Stay cool.  Stay safe.  Wear a mask.

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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