Coachella Valley coronavirus news and info | Monday, June 15

By
Casey Dolan
-
(?: Sharon Calcagno)

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 Monday, Riverside County officials have confirmed:

  • 11.285 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.  A whopping 795 people have been reported positive since Friday.
  • 384 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus. This number includes 1 reported death in since Friday.

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

  • 7,515 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.
  • 228 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus.

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

  • 155,126 people have official tested positive for COVID-19.
  • 5,108 people are confirmed to have died in the state of CA from the coronavirus.

The numbers increase everyday…

They are more than just numbers…

They are people we have lost:

An updated forecast substantially raised the projected deaths from coronavirus in the United States.  The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation now projects 201,129 deaths by October 1 due to COVID-19 in the US.  The group raised its estimate by 18% from 169.890, which was released just five days ago. Estimated deaths in California have been increased to 15,155 from 8,812 (up 72%).  Elsewhere, Florida is now estimated to see 18,675 deaths, up 186 percent from a previous estimate of 6,559, and Arizona’s forecasted fatalities was increased by 56 percent to 7,415 deaths from 4,762

A number of states are seeing coronavirus cases spike over the last few weeks. Monday, the Director of the United States National Economic Council said the high number of cases is just something everyone should “get used to.”

Donald Trump on Monday stated, “if we stop testing right now, we’d have very few cases, if any.” I can’t believe I have to add this here, but there would still be the same number of cases of people getting ill from a virus, there just would far less info about what’s going on for those trying to figure out how to contain and solve this thing. The only thing less testing does is to hide information that shows the failures of those in charge.

It’s been a bit since everyone on Fox News was hyping hydroxychloroquine as treatment for COVID-19.  On Monday, The Food and Drug Administration rescinded the emergency use authorization to treat patients, saying the drug carries too many risks without any apparent benefit.

A UCLA epidemiologist shared with the LA Times what needs to be done in California to avoid a second wave.  They include:

  • Individuals: Wear a mask, practice social distancing, high-risk groups be extra careful
  • Businesses: need to avoid crowding and frequently clean high-touch surfaces
  • County Governments: Health officials need to analyze data for any worrisome upward trends and pay attention to places like nursing homes.

A series of surveys conducted over the past three months shows that while 4% of white Americans say they were closed with someone who has died from coronavirus, the number increases dramatically (11%) for African Americans.  Overall, 5% of Americans say they know someone who has died from the disease.

Nail salons in some counties will be allowed to reopen on Friday, provided they follow California’s guidelines. Included in the measures: workers and customers must wear face masks, intense cleaning practices for shared items like tweezers, and services will be limited — no mouth or nose tattoos or piercings for now.

The Academy Awards will be delayed (and films will be given a longer window to be released for consideration, in news announced on Monday:

Speaking of movies, some theaters are opening up across the US (and drive ins are doing their thing too), but there haven’t been any new releases in some time, so some flicks are simply being re-released. This led to the number three highest earning movie at the box office this week being being: Back to the Future.  Jurassic Park was also in the top 10 along with E.T., and Goonies.

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