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 Wednesday, Riverside County officials have confirmed:

• 36,159 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.  249 people have been reported positive in the last 24 hours.
• 682 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus. The county reported 10 new deaths in the last 24 hours.

Here’s the latest from the Coachella Valley:

Of course, I would love this to be good news, but the drop is so large and sudden, it may be that there's some delay in test processing or reporting. Therefore I won’t update the chart today, in case today's data turns out to be misleading. We'll see what tomorrow brings. (2/2)

— Kevin Duncliffe (@kevinduncliffe) July 29, 2020

Tuesday — #COVID19 patients in #CoachellaValley hospitals (+/- from Monday):

133 confirmed (+4)
48 suspected (+4)

181 TOTAL (+8)
-14 from last Tuesday, down 7%

44 of confirmed/suspected patients are in ICU (+3)

The overall number of patients has been rising for a few days. pic.twitter.com/SPQRADf0pu

— Kevin Duncliffe (@kevinduncliffe) July 29, 2020

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

• 32,309 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.
• 419 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus.  This includes 23 people reported dead in the county in the last 24 hours.

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

• • • 479,437  people have official tested positive for COVID-19.
    • 8,799 people are confirmed to have died in the state of CA from the coronavirus.

Five months ago today, the United States reported its first Coronavirus death.

Later that day, @VP told @jaketapper on @CNNSotu that he wanted "to assure the American people that we're ready."

Current death count: 150,034

— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) July 29, 2020

The coronavirus death toll in the U.S. has passed 150,000.

Despite having less than 5% of the global population, nearly a quarter of all pandemic deaths have been reported in the U.S.https://t.co/pOiMARSzYc

— NPR (@NPR) July 29, 2020

California, once again, set the record for the most coronavirus-related deaths in a single day on Tuesday.  174 people were reported dead.

Understandably, there is a lot of attention paid to deaths from COVID-19.  A new study shows that many of those who recover suffer some real damage to their health.  The study of 100 recovered coronavirus patients revealed 78 of them now have lasting cardiovascular damage even though a vast majority of them had mild cases of COVID-19.  Bottom line: We don’t know everything about this virus and what we do know is pretty bad. So wear a mask and be smart about things.

NBC News profiled women who were infected with coronavirus and who have not seen their symptoms go away.  While they are dealing with health issues, they are also dealing with doctors who have become less helpful as time has gone on, often downplaying their concerns. “‘Gaslighting’ is the word I’ve been using repeatedly,” one COVID-19 survivor told the news outlet. “I’m so ill and some people are telling me this is a figment of my imagination.”

The United States needs to restart its response to the coronavirus pandemic with policy actions at the federal, state and local levels to get control of the pandemic, scholars at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security said in a report.  “Unlike many countries in the world, the United States is not currently on course to get control of this epidemic,” the report says. “It is time to reset.”

Larry Bohanan of the Desert Sun wrote about his experience serving on jury duty during the pandemic. So what are things like at the Indio courthouse nowadays? Lots of social distancing, far fewer potential jurors called, and required face masks.

That Palm Desert dive bar that called for lynching the governor and then saw a mysterious fire break out is back in the news as the roof was, once again, painted to show a message.  This time it was scrawled with “4 Sale As Is” – as seen in the photo of a screen that appears to have been taken by a potato and sent to Cactus Hugs.  It was quickly painted over (though the message still shows).  A spokesperson for the City of Palm Desert (which called the lynching message free speech a few months ago) suggested to KESQ that if the message is indeed a solicitation, it would be a violation of the city’s sign ordinance – and, yes, Palm Desert continues to be the Coachella Valley’s Florida.

As Mitch McConnell and the White House have been dragging their feet to get things done in Washington DC, some California lawmakers are proposing borrowing billions of dollars from a federal stimulus plan and providing relief for recipients of unemployment benefits as the $600 weekly federal aid is set to expire July 31.

And what’s going on in DC while people face the loss of unemployment checks and possible evictions.  Well, it’s all been very swampy lately…

The Trump administration wants $377 million in the next coronavirus relief bill for a long-delayed modernization of the West Wing. https://t.co/jZ5SNJs3W5

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 29, 2020

The GOP coronavirus bill has $1.75b for a new FBI building in its present location so as to block a potential competitor to the Trump Hotel, and 100% deduction for business meals (which would benefit Trump's hotels). But not a cent for safe and secure elections this November.

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) July 27, 2020

Speaking of Washington DC:

For months, the Texas Congressman refused to wear a mask.

His office forced workers to come in to work–and berated those who wore masks.

Louie Gohmert, 66, tested positive for #COVID19.https://t.co/0F7pJY4bvo #coronavirus

— David Beard (@dabeard) July 29, 2020

Meanwhile…

!!! MINNIANAPOLIS !!! pic.twitter.com/AxTNdpOygn

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 29, 2020

Peson. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.

While you may be wearing a mask these days, it’s still a new thing to everybody and, for that reason, the state is out with some tips on how to do it correctly:

Are you making these common mistakes when wearing a face covering? 😷

Learn more about the basics & how to #slowthespread.

▶️ https://t.co/snYe5v55Rw pic.twitter.com/xaK19IP54M

— Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) July 28, 2020

Finally…

Dad is a genius
(Via thesheyshey IG) pic.twitter.com/1uYlIj8Ef6

— ziregolf (@ziregolf) July 28, 2020

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.