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 Friday, Riverside County officials have confirmed:

• 37,011 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.  382 people have been reported positive in the last 24 hours.
• 695 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus. The county reported 7 new deaths in the last 24 hours.

Here’s the latest from the Coachella Valley:

Usually, the fewer tests you run, the fewer cases you find. And the 21,858 tests added to the county's total this week is way below the numbers we’ve seen in recent weeks. (2/3) pic.twitter.com/hyGM3SFhb6

— Kevin Duncliffe (@kevinduncliffe) July 31, 2020

Maybe the test numbers were a bit higher in recent weeks because they were working through a backlog…or maybe there's a backlog now. Or maybe there's some other reason for this.

In any event, I would treat all these numbers with caution for the time being. (3/3)

— Kevin Duncliffe (@kevinduncliffe) July 31, 2020

NOTE: A delay in case counts from the state is reflected in today's numbers, so we expect to see significant increases next week to catch up on the delayed data. This will not impact data for deaths or hospitalizations. Case updates resume Monday, Aug. 3. #RivCoNOW #RUHealth pic.twitter.com/76tGlspgur

— Dr. Cameron Kaiser (@RivCoDoc) August 1, 2020

CORRECTION:

Above —

(+/- from XXXXXX)
should read
(+/- from Thursday)

Sorry. Pressed that “Tweet" button a little too fast.

— Kevin Duncliffe (@kevinduncliffe) July 31, 2020

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

• 32,230 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.
• 409 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus.

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

• • • • 500,056  people have official tested positive for COVID-19.
      • 9,160 people are confirmed to have died in the state of CA from the coronavirus.

Imagine: Two large planes crashing every day in the U.S., killing everyone on board. Or the 9/11 attacks 50 times over.

The nation would be despondent. The tragedy would be incomprehensible.

That's how many lives coronavirus has now claimed in the U.S.https://t.co/jIORvm2VDb

— Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II (@RevDrBarber) July 31, 2020

As the week ends, I can’t help but think of the magnitude of 150,000+ Americans dying from the coronavirus. Let’s not become numb to it. The families of those who have died don’t care about politics, and politics should not dictate our response to this virus. Science should.

— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) July 31, 2020

---

This update is a little briefer than the usual.  It’s hot, it’s Friday, Mitch McConnell is taking the weekend off instead of extending unemployment for the millions out of work – oh, and Jared Kushner had team of people develop a secret national testing plan early in the pandemic – similar to plans that have enabled other counties to better contain the virus –  and that plan suddenly just disappeared with one member of that team telling Vanity Fair, “because the virus had hit blue states hardest, a national plan was unnecessary and would not make sense politically.”  And now, here we are, in a total clusterfuck with thousands dying everyday and those who are in charge showing more and more that they are not just incompetent, but if they are willing to let people die because they’re in a blue state, well, that’s just fucking evil.   They show no remorse.  They don’t grieve.  They can’t admit the were wrong.  They lie about everything…every single day. This isn’t about red states and blue states, this is about all Americans.  Other countries have figured shit out, but not us.  Not Even close.  Testing results take weeks, people just keep dying in our communities, our health care workers are exhausted and under-supplied, and goddamn Karen keeps bitching about “her freedoms” because she has to wear a mask to run into Trader Joe’s to grab some cheese, all while the employees of that same store are wearing masks all day long because it helps keep her from getting a virus that could kill her. Anyway, I am hot.  I am pissed.  I need a few days off and a stiff drink.  Stay cool out there. Stay smart. Stay safe. Make sure you are registered to vote. 

There has been a lot of chatter lately that kids can’t carry the virus or transmit the virus and that schools are perfectly safe to reopen.  Then there are stories like this:

-*Out of 597 campers & staff, 344 were tested and 76% of those tests were positive

-26% positives report no symptoms

-Bottom line from @CDCgov: Children of *all* ages are susceptible to #SARSCOV2 & "might play an important role in transmission"

Paper online soon & here (2/2) pic.twitter.com/MsV7HfSU1F

— Amy Maxmen (@amymaxmen) July 31, 2020

California health officials reported the state’s first coronavirus death of a child on Friday, saying the victim was a teenager and had other health conditions.

Meanwhile, your local elected officials are demanding schools reopen by posting branded memes on Facebook:

The University of Washington has updated their coronavirus again and, once again, the projected number has been raised to what once seemed like an unimaginable level:

The University of Washington coronavirus model cited by the White House now projects 231,000 coronavirus deaths in the United States by November.

— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) July 31, 2020

The Desert Sun reports on the current state of hospitals and staffing in the Coachella Valley during the coronavirus.  The desert has the highest rate of COVID-19 in the county, yet  “hospitals can’t use all the beds in their expanded intensive care units because they don’t have the nurses, respiratory therapists and doctors to staff them.”

The baseball season may be a quick one:

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred warned union leader Tony Clark in a Friday call that if the league and players don't do a better job of following Covid-19 protocols and managing the virus, Manfred could shut down the shortened season, ESPN reports https://t.co/ucgUnoIP1V

— CNN (@CNN) July 31, 2020

Finally…

Response to this video has been absolutely insane! Cannot thank everyone enough! 4.5 Million views on TikTok! #COVID19 #covid #corona pic.twitter.com/8i8F8ktJvD

— Blake Pavey (@BlakePavey) July 30, 2020

Updates will resume on Monday.  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.