Coachella Valley coronavirus news and info | Wednesday, June 17

By
Casey Dolan
-
(?: Sharon Calcagno)

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:

  • 11,951 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.  257 people have been reported positive in the last 24 hours.
  • 399 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus. This number includes 4 reported death in the last 24 hours.

Here’s the latest from the Coachella Valley:

As of 3 pm Wednesday, San Bernardino County has confirmed:

  • 8,014 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.
  • 229 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus.

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

  • 162,797 people have official tested positive for COVID-19.
  • 5,271 people are confirmed to have died in the state of CA from the coronavirus.

https://twitter.com/gelles/status/1273363796514484225

 

The numbers increase everyday…

They are more than just numbers…

They are people we have lost:

 

 

An employee of the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District has died of coronavirus. The employee, Fernando Fregoso, was identified by the district with permission from his family.  The agency told KESQ that they were informed of the positive test on June 10.  The same day the district learned of Fregoso’s death, another employee tested positive for coronavirus. The organization has now temporarily suspended operations while all workspaces and vehicles are sanitized.

Palm Springs police officer tested positive for coronavirus this week.  Officials told the Desert Sun that the officer has been released from the hospital and is recovering at home, where he lives alone.

Just a month ago, things were improving all across the United States.  Now, 10 states, including California, are seeing their highest seven-day average of new coronavirus cases per day since the pandemic started months ago, according to a CNN analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. The other states: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina and Texas.

A group of 16 friends all tested positive (all 16 of them!!!) for coronavirus after a night out at a recently reopened Florida bar. Three of them went on CNN Tuesday night to admit they had erred in going out and to raise awareness about COVID-19. “We want to raise awareness and get ahead of it,” Kat Layton told Chris Cuomo. “We want to tell people it’s really not ready for what we thought it was ready for, it’s too soon.”

If you do have to head out, the CDC recommends brining three important things with you: a cloth face covering, hand sanitizer that’s made with at least 60 percent alcohol, and tissues (to use on for handles and doors and, of course, sneezing).

Before the coronavirus, the downtown Palm Springs arena seemed on the fast track to be completed, season ticket deposits for minor league hockey were being taken, and there was even a groundbreaking scheduled.  As for where the arena stands now, well, it doesn’t look great.

Palm Desert announced there won’t be a fireworks show this year on the 4th of July.  While the move was expected, the city did surprise by announcing something called a “patriotic listening party” on the local radio.

New research shows that, while lower income people are spending nearly as much as they were before coronavirus, the wealthiest American households are not and that decline in spending by the rich could limit the whole country’s economic recovery. “When the stimulus checks went out, you see that spending by lower-income households went up a lot,” said a Harvard economist. “For higher-income individuals, that spending is still way far off from where it was prior to COVID and it has not recovered as much.”

As if flying wasn’t bad enough already before the coronavirus, now airlines are nixing booze on flights. The move, which does make sense, is to minimize interaction between crew and passengers and to help keep everyone’s masks on and, well, maybe plan a road trip this summer (though save the drinking until the driving is done).

Finally…

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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