Coachella Valley coronavirus news and info | Friday, April 10

By
Casey Dolan
-
(?: Michael Leffel)

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 1 pm Thursday, Riverside County officials have confirmed 1,280 people have tested positive for COVID-19.  There have been 33 confirmed deaths in the county.

As of 8 am Friday, San Bernardino County has confirmed 729 cases of COVID-19.  There has been 24 deaths in San Bernardino County.

As of 9:11 am Friday, there have been 20,285 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in California.  There have been 550 confirmed deaths in the state.

The number of COVID-19 patients requiring intensive care fell for the first time since California began tracking, Governor Gavin Newsom said on Thursday. While the number of those in ICU beds fell nearly 2 percent on Wednesday, the governor warns that it’s just one data point.  “I caution anybody to read too much into that,” he said. “But nonetheless, it is encouraging.

The Trump administration is pushing to reopen much of the country next month. Health experts and economists are concerned that doing so risks a possible COVID-19 resurgence if everyone tries to return to their normal lives before the virus is truly stamped out.

Landmarks around California honored healthcare workers on Thursday night by turning blue:

Californians who are now out of work will get an extra $600 in weekly unemployment benefits starting on Sunday, according to the governor. The money will be taken from the federal stimulus package.

Labor and robotics experts say social-distancing directives, which are likely to continue in some form even after the pandemic, could prompt more industries to accelerate their use of automation and robots.

Riverside and San Bernardino counties are being threatened with lawsuits if they don’t relax orders that restrict gatherings for religious services before Easter.

An Indio home was destroyed by a fire early Thursday morning.  Neighbors believe it was occupied by renters who had been throwing a party, in violation of the short-term vacation rental moratorium.  Indio PD is looking into it.

Residents looking to report nonessential businesses, unauthorized gatherings and essential businesses that aren’t complying with health orders can do so anonymously through Riverside County’s mobile app (Google Play) (Apple Store).  “Unfortunately, we’ve received numerous reports of violations throughout the county,” Riverside University Health System Dr. Geoffrey Leung said in a statement. “This data will allow us to map areas of noncompliance, where we anticipate there will be associated outbreaks of COVID-19 and a corresponding need for resources.”

In addition to limiting how many people can attend funerals, many cemeteries have changed visitation hours or closed to the public entirely, citing public health orders to avoid gatherings and stay at home.  “We have visitors that come every day, so we’re really aware of the pain and loss they may be feeling,” Brian McMahon, director of community outreach for Catholic Cemeteries and Mortuaries, told the Press Enterprise.

The City of Riverside is placing 15 RVs at its municipal airport for homeless people who have coronavirus symptoms:

The Riverside County District Attorney’s office discussed price gouging in the desert during the pandemic with KMIR. “The incidents in the Coachella Valley have primarily been pertaining to things like toilet paper, eggs, meat and cleaning products. Our investigators have confirmed that these are price increases directly related to increases that the businesses have received from their distributors.”

“As you can see, we have a completely empty adoption center.” – As people are adopting more pets during the pandemic, one Riverside County animal adoption center celebrated that all of their animals had been adopted this week:

This is incredible: we cleared the adoptable animals! If you are interested in adopting or fostering from our shelter, please visit our website (www.rcdas.org) to view all of our available animals. If you see one you are interested in, send us an email at shelterinfo@rivco.org. Be sure to include the animal ID number and your contact information!

Posted by Riverside County Animal Services on Wednesday, April 8, 2020

CouchChella has arrived.  The Coachella documentary about the fest’s first 20 years begins streaming on YouTube today.

Coachella Valley Brewing has some CouchChella-inspired deals this weekend:

Finally, a message from  Palm Springs Professional Firefighters Local 3601:

That’s all for this morning.  We will get through this.  Stay safe. Stay smart. 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.

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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