Coachella Valley coronavirus news and info | Thursday, July 23

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.

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

  • 32,813 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.  831 people have been reported positive in the last 24 hours.
  • 637 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus. This number includes 20 people reported dead in the last 24 hours.  That makes 48 people reported dead in the last 48 hours.

Here’s the latest from the Coachella Valley:

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

  • 26,185 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.
  • 358 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus.  This includes 21 people reported dead in the county in the last 24 hours.

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

      • 428,180 people have official tested positive for COVID-19.
      • 8,169 people are confirmed to have died in the state of CA from the coronavirus.

There have been 48 reported deaths in the county in the last two days.  And, it appears there will likely be many more in the days to come. The number of coronavirus patients admitted to the ICU increased today, with 12 more patients admitted into the ICU in Riverside County. There are now 155 patients in the ICU, the most since the pandemic started.

The City of Coachella has decided how to spend the $508,000 it is set to receive in CARES Act funding.  The money will be allocated as follows:

  • $200,000 for rental, utility and other economic assistance
  • $100,000 for youth nonprofits
  • $50,000 for local businesses
  • $80,000 for mental health assistance
  • $150,000 for other nonprofits

Donald Trump used the beginning of his “coronavirus” press conference to announce that he will no longer hold any Republican Convention activities in Jacksonville.  “I have to protect the American people,” he said. “That’s what I’ve always done. That’s what I always will do. That’s what I’m about.”  Literally five seconds after saying that, he insisted schools should open:

Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.

Trump then went on to say that the country is in “great shape”…”other than if you look south and west.”

Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.

The White House’s coronavirus task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx privately told a group of state and local health officials Wednesday about concerns due to a spike in coronavirus cases in 12 cities. “There are cities that are lagging behind and we have new increases in Miami, New Orleans, Las Vegas, San Jose, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Columbus and Baltimore, so we’re tracking this very closely,” she said. “We’re working with the state officials to make sure we’re responding together, but when you first see that increased test positivity, that is when to start the mitigation efforts.” Donald Trump has taken the podium for three straight days to for “coronavirus” press conferences.  He has not mentioned this or addressed the American citizens in these cities.

Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.

The $600 per week unemployment will end at the end of the month, the PPP program is coming to an end, people are losing their jobs and are unable to pay rent. Meanwhile, Republicans and the White House are dicking around and delaying instead of finding a way to help people when they need it most:

Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.

In a move that may signal the beginning of the end for a printed daily newspaper in the Coachella Valley, the Desert Sun announced that it will no longer be printed in the desert beginning this September.  The daily newspaper will be printed in Phoenix and trucked to the desert each day.  There will still be a local newsroom.  The move to print in Arizona will result in the loss of about 36 jobs at the Desert Sun.

The new Seattle hockey franchise got its name today – and it’s a good one: The Kraken.  The team was supposed to have a minor league franchise in Palm Springs housed at a brand new arena.  There hasn’t been much news on that front and, while construction was supposed to being earlier this year, ground has not been broken and there has been no word on just what the heck is going on.  The team has held onto my and plenty of other people’s season ticket deposit money though, so they have that going for them, I suppose.

 

Baseball is back today (Go Dodgers!) and when the games hit Fox this weekend, they are going to look weird:

Juuuust a bit outside:

In non-covid news, those in the pass will be able to enjoy a Double-Double beginning tomorrow:

Finally…

Thank you for your continued support of Cactus Hugs.

Be safe. Go Dodgers!

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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