Coachella Valley coronavirus news and info | Saturday evening, April 4

(?: Katie Wolff)

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 Saturday, Riverside County officials have confirmed 665 people have tested positive for COVID-19.  There have been 18 confirmed deaths in the county.

As of 8 am Saturday, San Bernardino County has confirmed 353 cases of COVID-19.  There has been 13 deaths in San Bernardino County.

As of 3:44 Saturday, there have been 13,595 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in California.  There have been 318 deaths in the state.

All across the US, the coronavirus has been killing more men than women.

Saturday, Donald Trump warned Americans to be prepared for “a lot of death.”

Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California will increase testing for coronavirus.  He also said he “owns” the lapses in testing so far:

It appears a lot of people are following the recommendations to wear a mask issued by health officials this week:

And everyone wearing a mask seems to have the same joke:

Here’s how to keep that mask of yours clean.

Only those who have an emergency will be allowed to get a passport for a while.

While voting by mail would seem to make sense to save lives during a pandemic, Trump and the GOP are fighting the possibility – with some saying it would lead to fraud and others openly admitting it would make it very hard for Republicans to win elections.

Just because you can’t golf doesn’t mean you can’t find a good use for the local fairways:

Target and Walmart are now limiting the amount of people inside their stores at one time.  You can read Walmart’s new policies here and Target’s here.

Here is a list of chains in Southern California that are currently hiring.

The Executive Editor of the Desert Sun writes about how the newspaper is working through furloughs brought down by its parent company Gannett.  The column is pretty straight forward and honest, though there is no mention of the millions of dollars in golden parachutes being handed out to Gannett executives while everyone else’s salary is cut by 25%.

CV Independent is looking for artists to use this quarantine time to contribute a page to their desert-themed coloring book.

A few weeks ago, he was making sure Dwayne Johnson’s clothes fit correctly on the set of Netflix’s “Red Notice,” now he is using his sewing talents to make masks – The LA Times reports on Hollywood’s costumers are using their skills to help during the coronavirus pandemic.

The pandemic has led to a huge stockpile of unsold chicken wings.

Here are a couple of ideas if you are planning on having takeout this weekend:

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Family Pack Fettucine ??

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That’s all for this evening.  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.

Schools are closed, but free student meals are available.  Here is the information on meal programs during this time for each Coachella Valley school district.

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.