Coachella Valley coronavirus update | News and info for Sunday, 3/15

By
Casey Dolan
-
(Twitter / @motatzin)

Cactus Hugs has been tracking local stories about the coronavirus.  Some links might be behind that website’s paywall…nothing we can do about that, sorry.  For a rundown of all of our updates, click here.

  • The city of Palm Springs has declared a local emergency and is asking all businesses in the city to cut their occupancy by half.  Access to City Hall will be closed to the public starting Tuesday.
  • A police officer at LAX has tested positive for coronavirus.
  • San Manuel and Pechanga casinos have announced that they will be closing through the end of March (as of this posting, no Coachella Valley casinos have closed).

  • A online petition is calling for mandatory social isolation in the Coachella Valley.
  • Coachella Valley parents are finding ways to deal with schools being closed until at least April.
  • While some realtors are cancelling open houses, The Press Enterprise reports that record low interest rates are luring buyers to the market.  The industry is recommending things like video and virtual tours for prospective buyers during the pandemic.
  • Confused about why, of all things, toilet paper is in such demand?  CNN breaks it down.
  • Speaking of which, this was the line at Costco in Palm Desert on Saturday morning:

  • And this was Food 4 Less in Indio:

  • Some stores, such as Stater Bros., have changed their hours:

  • Market Watch gives the answers to questions like, “should you go to the gym?” and “should you get a haircut?” during the coronavirus pandemic.
  • Riverside County reminds you not to shake hands and, instead, give an elbow bump:

  • A personality from the TV show Vanderpump Rules is getting criticism for tweeting that she will still be inviting friends over to her Palm Springs pace during the pandemic.

  • The Desert Sun took a look at how some businesses in the hospitality industry in the Coachella Valley are being affected. One economic official recommends buying gift cards from local businesses as “kind of like giving them a short-term loan against what you were going to buy anyway.”

Important information:

  • 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.
  • 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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