Coachella Valley coronavirus news and info | Saturday, June 13

By
Casey Dolan
-
Highway 74 above Palm Desert, California

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:

  • 10,490 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.  240 people have been reported positive in the last 24 hours.
  • 383 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus. This number includes 6 reported deaths in the last 24 hours.

A reminder:

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

  • 7,161 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.
  • 229 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus.

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

  • 149,695 people have official tested positive for COVID-19.
  • 5,054 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:

 

Kevin Duncliffe has been doing a fantastic job tracking coronavirus cases in the Coachella Valley. If you are on Twitter, you should follow him.  Below are some of his latest updates and, as you will see, things are not looking great in the desert these days:

And cases aren’t just increasing in the Coachella Valley, twenty-one states saw an increase in their seven-day average of daily new coronavirus cases this week in comparison with the previous week. As the Washington Post notes, an increase of coronavirus cases in counties with fewer than 60,000 people is part of the trend of infections surging across rural United States. Now, health experts worry those areas, already short of resources before the pandemic, will struggle to track new cases.

Augustine Casino announced on Friday that it will reopen its doors on Monday.  The casino’s general manager told the Desert Sun that the facility has been monitoring the number of coronavirus cases in the region and would reopen “when the tribe deems it safe enough.”

A member of Placer County’s Board of Supervisors took to Facebook this week to compare the wearing of masks during the coronavirus pandemic to AIDS awareness ribbons. “You see, the face mask is today’s sign that you care,” he says before ripping off a bandana. “Sorry, I can’t have that stupid thing on. More importantly, if you don’t have one on it means you don’t care.” He went on to say only N95 masks would work, and suggested that for those wearing cloth masks are just doing it for aesthetics. “If you’re walking around wearing something like this, you might as well be walking around wearing one of these,” he concluded, with a red AIDS awareness ribbon in hand. Of course, he’s totally wrong.

Speaking of masks, there is a ton of new information out about how they can help slow the spread of coronavirus.  Of course, you already know this and, unfortunately, those who don’t take time to read these things are spending all of their time making stupid Facebook videos comparing masks to ribbons (maybe in hopes that they get to spend 5 minutes on Fox and Friends?), rather than reading what science says about masks and then using that information to keep you and your community as safe as possible. 

Under Armour has announced a new $30 reusable black mask that is water resistant and “designed for maximum breathability” while also reducing the spread of respiratory droplets, which health experts consider to be a primary way that the coronavirus is transmitted.

The CDC on Friday released new guidelines for people venturing out these days to places like restaurants and the agency recommends things like, you guessed it, wearing a mask. They also say you should carry tissues and hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol in it, everywhere you go.

A Major League Baseball player and a pitching coach have tested positive for coronavirus.

Donald Trump is holding a high-dollar fundraiser tonight.  For those paying up big to attend, they will have to go through numerous screening processes before being allowed to enter – and just imagine if these kinds of precautions were in place for everyone you had to come in contact with at your job:

How much risk is there in travel activities like flying on a plane, staying in a hotel, taking a cruise, or heading to a theme park these days? USA Today asked an expert who provided some tips on those looking to get away during the coronavirus pandemic.

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.

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