Coachella Valley coronavirus news and info | Monday, August 10

By
Casey Dolan
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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.

And we’re back with updates…

As of 3 pm Monday, Riverside County officials have confirmed:

  • 41,938 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.  1,531 people have been reported positive since Friday.
  • 820 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus. The county reported 21 new deaths since Friday.

The county notes: “Because of a statewide delay with data collection, the figures displayed for “Confirmed” COVID-19 cases, case rates, positivity rates, doubling time, and number of tests do not accurately reflect the current situation.”

Here’s the latest from the Coachella Valley:

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

  • 36,702 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.
  • 546 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus.

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

        • 568,828  people have official tested positive for COVID-19.
        • 10,433 people are confirmed to have died in the state of CA from the coronavirus.

Or…don’t play college football…

The number of positive cases continue to be terrible, we don’t really know how bad it is because of delays, and at least 820 people have died in the county from coronavirus since the pandemic began. But none of that matters to State Senator Melissa Melendez, who has authored legislation, which among other things would effectively end the Governor’s pandemic-related “state of emergency”. “I get emails and calls everyday from Republicans, Democrats and Independents, you name it. They’re all saying the same thing, which is let our businesses reopen and let our kids go back to school,” told KESQ.  “We’re six months into this. I think it should go back to the local level,” said the state senator.

For those who wish to email or call Melendez with their own thoughts on the coronavirus and her looking to strike down the state’s health orders, her Indio office’s phone number is (760) 398-6442.  You can send an email here. 

The Desert Sun checked in on waiting times for COVID-19 tests in the Coachella Valley and,  while some facilities have a turnaround time of 2-3 days, others are seeing 7-10 day waiting periods for testing results. You can check out the newspaper’s excellent roundup of expected wait times at different locations here.

Just days after details emerged about a “glitch” that led to a backlog of over 300,000 tests.  Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Monday that the state was working to “ensure the kind of accuracy that all of you deserve.” He added, “These things are unfortunate, but we are moving forward.” He declined to discuss why the state’s top health official resigned.

Last week, President Trump predicted there could be a coronavirus vaccine by election day.  Now, you’re going to want to sit down for this, but he probably wasn’t telling the truth.  Yeah.  I know, so out of character for him.  As it turns out, after reviewing data from Moderna, the first company to begin its Phase 3 clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine in the United States, a vaccinologist told CNN, “There’s no way. There’s just no way,” he said.  “Maybe by Inauguration Day we might have a glimmer of whether the vaccine is working and be able to assess its safety.”

At a press conference at his country club, surrounded by country club members who booed mask wearing measures at a press conference at the same private golf club the previous day, Trump announced “executive orders” regarding the pandemic, which ended up just confusing most people and businesses at a time everyone is just desperate for leadership.  One of the announced orders would add $400 to unemployment checks, but only if states kicked in 25% with money they say they don’t have. Another of the orders on the payroll tax has everyone confused and may actually defund your social security benefits.

Oh, there was also this from a press conference on Monday:

Finally…

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.

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