Coachella Valley coronavirus news and info | Wednesday, June 24

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 Wednesday, Riverside County officials have confirmed:

  • 14,905 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.  474 people have been reported positive in the last 24 hours.
  • 432 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus. This number includes 1 person reported dead in the last 24 hours.

Here’s the latest from the Coachella Valley:

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

  • 10,407 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.
  • 245 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus.

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

  • 193,898 people have official tested positive for COVID-19.
  • 5,681 people are confirmed to have died in the state of CA from the coronavirus.

Things are really not looking good in California right now:

Or elsewhere around the United States:

Even the stock market, which has remained remarkably resilient during the pandemic, is starting to show investors are growing very concerned about the recent rise in cases.

The city of Palm Springs sent a letter to the more than 7,000 businesses in the city them know that masks need to be worn in all settings, with the exception of those at a table or bar.  The letter also told owners they should refuse service to anyone who doesn’t wear a mask, which some say is tough, since not wearing a mask has now become a (dumb) political statement. “Some of the people that don’t wear masks are very angry,” the owner of Crystal Fantasy told KESQ. “That puts an awful burden on our shoulders to have to maybe have some conflict with a customer.”

Dringk Eatery + Bar was one of the first eateries in the Coachella Valley to embrace take-out and delivery during the pandemic.  The Rancho Mirage spot recently reopened, but made a surprising announcement on Wednesday that it was temporarily closing due to “hate towards my family and patrons.”  The restaurant posted that there were issues with people not wanting to wear masks: “Our very late weekend nights have been run at 1/2 capacity and while we have had notices to wear masks it is hard for everyone,” the owner of Dringk posted. “We get that and wish everyone could come in and be free but sadly that is not the case. The divide in society to wear or not wear is huge”

View this post on Instagram

Dringk. A fun place with great pizza’s and burgers and most of all the best weekend nights! As the owner of Dringk I would like to address the hate towards my family and patrons that has risen. Social distancing and safety has been a great priority for Dringk. We have changed the entire layout and followed all guidelines during food service. Our very late weekend nights have been run at 1/2 capacity and while we have had notices to wear masks it is hard for everyone. We get that and wish everyone could come in and be free but sadly that is not the case. The divide in society to wear or not wear is huge. Dringk is very well known for a fun place where you leave everything at the big yellow doors and enjoy people of all walks of life. Our goal is to bring people together and to reduce the segregation and hate. Since opening, the hate on our guests, staff and family has come to a point where we have made the decision to close until further notice. Until which time we can safely open without threats to the wonderful people and staff that love Dringk. The brand of Dringk is about love and belonging to a wonderful community. No one should get hate from trying to survive or make sense of these times. We understand this is disheartening for the supporters of Dringk. However, being popular ain’t easy! ? So we will see y’all on the flip side or Walmart or Home Depot. Kurt G. Owner #caroledidit PS. Food from our regular menu – to go service will be announced shortly.

A post shared by DRINGK Eatery + Bar (@dringkbar) on

Gov. Gavin Newsom pleaded with Californians to wear a mask and take precautions on Wednesday and threatened counties that fail to enforce the state’s measure requiring them.  “We cannot support bad behaviors, but we want to encourage and support good behavior,” Newsom said. “And if counties simply are going to (flout) the rules and regulations that they attested to, the information that they put online and said, ‘We agreed to this criteria.’ … If they decide, ‘well, you know what, even though the numbers are going up, we’re done, we’ve got this, we’re just going to … dismiss these new rules and regulations’ — we’re going to attach some considerations, some consequences to that. There’s $2.5 billion in this budget that simply will not flow to those counties that do that.”

If you are reading this, you are likely a person who wears a mask when going out.  Here’s why everyone else in the country should be doing the same:

One last note on masks.  While the argument on one side is that they help to slow the spread of coronavirus, the argument on the other side isn’t quite as simple:

Pechanga Casino in Temecula has cancelled all of its live events for 2020. “The health and safety of our guests, team members and community is and has always been our number one priority at Pechanga,” stated a news release from the casino. “We decided to make this decision now so our guests were not left wondering about whether or not concerts would take place as previously scheduled. Avoiding mass gatherings is the prudent thing to do for public health, and we’ll look forward to bringing exciting concerts back when the time is right.”

Saturday, President Donald Trump said at his poorly attended rally that he asked for coronavirus testing to be slowed down.  White House staffers quickly told media that he was just joking…even though there is nothing at all funny about that. Fast forward to Wednesday and we now learn that the White House is planning to end funding for coronavirus testing sites in several states as the virus continues to ravage parts of the country.

New Jersey has a new order requiring visitors who have been in states with a high number of coronavirus cases to quarantine for 14 days.  This weekend, President Donald Trump, who was just in Arizona, which is currently a COVID-19 hotspot, will visit the state, but will not quarantine.  “The president of the United States is not a civilian.”

Here’s a coronavirus casualty you didn’t see coming: Costco sheet cakes. The company is halting sales as the lack of weddings and parties has made them unnecessary these days.

Have you been hearing a lot of fireworks in your neighborhood these days?  The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department has too and now has a webpage to report them:

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.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR