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:

• 49,482 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.  526 people have been reported positive in the last 24 hours..
• 927 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus. The county reported 5 new deaths in the last 24 hours

Here’s the latest from the Coachella Valley:

August 21 — #COVID19 in the #CoachellaValley (+/- from day before):

12,887 confirmed cases (+101)
291 deaths (+1)

813 new cases reported this week. That’s better than it was 4-8 weeks ago, but still pretty high compared to elsewhere. More in the thread below. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/3MMfZrDidt

— Kevin Duncliffe (@kevinduncliffe) August 21, 2020

By my calculation the COVID rate in the Coachella Valley is on a par with, or slightly worse than, the three states with the highest rates of new cases right now: Mississippi, Georgia, and Texas, and far worse than the rate for the United States as a whole. (3/3)

— Kevin Duncliffe (@kevinduncliffe) August 21, 2020

Thursday — #COVID19 patients in #CoachellaValley hospitals (+/- from Wednesday):

54 confirmed (-1)
51 suspected (+5)

105 TOTAL (+4)
+18 from last Thursday, up 21%

20 of confirmed/suspected patients are in ICU (-2)

Many more COVID-suspected patients the past few days. pic.twitter.com/lPyYkG1x0g

— Kevin Duncliffe (@kevinduncliffe) August 21, 2020

As of 4 pm Friday, San Bernardino County has confirmed:

• 43,943 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.
• 629 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus.

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

• • • • 657,797 people have official tested positive for COVID-19.
      • 11,937 people are confirmed to have died in the state of CA from the coronavirus.

The coronavirus death toll in the United States is projected to reach 258,000 by Election Day, according to a University of Washington model cited by the White House.

— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) August 21, 2020

Up to 215,000 more people than usual died in the U.S. during the first 7 months of 2020, suggesting a significant undercount of coronavirus deaths. https://t.co/FlsCtkWfBC

— The Associated Press (@AP) August 21, 2020

2 people died of coronavirus in the uk in the last 24 hours.
1,042 died in america

— Oliver Willis (@owillis) August 21, 2020

The Desert Sun has a roundup of what local mayors would like to do in the current state of the pandemic and Riverside County’s odd plan to open wedding receptions, events, and movie theaters in just a few weeks.  While some mayors (Palm Springs, Coachella, Cathedral City) were concerned about the lack of PPE, contact tracing, and scientific input being used in the plan, the mayors of Indio and La Quinta said they were more than ready to reopen.  “There’s no reason why everything can’t be open if you’re washing your hands, covering your face and maintaining your space,” La Quinta Mayor Linda Evans told the newspaper.

Orange County could be removed from California’s coronavirus watch list as soon as Saturday. The possible removal from the list comes as hospitalizations in the county are dropping and as two dozen private elementary schools and the Los Alamitos Unified School District received approval via waivers to resume in-person education on campus:

Hi, #OC. We’ve just received word that @CAPublicHealth has approved our second batch of school waivers. These schools may resume/begin in-person instruction. #OCCOVID19 pic.twitter.com/8IMRZWpgnh

— OC Health Care Agency (@ochealth) August 20, 2020

Many colleges around the US opted in favor of in-person instruction this fall.  Things are already off to a bad start. Some of these schools have already had sizable coronavirus outbreaks. The New York Times has identified more than 17,000 cases at more than 650 American colleges and universities over the months, which has left schools, students, teachers, and parents scrambling.

Lauren Nichols was sickened with COVID-19 at the beginning of March. 150 days later, she was on her fifth month of gastrointestinal problems and severe morning nausea. She still has extreme fatigue, bulging veins, excessive bruising, an erratic heartbeat, short-term memory loss, gynecological problems, sensitivity to light and sounds, and brain fog. The Atlantic reports on COVID-19’s long-haulers and how little is known about the long-term effects of the virus.

The LA Times offers up the surprising story of the salesman who became L.A.’s first known COVID-19 patient, who spent five weeks in top-secret isolation at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Sales of previously-owned homes in the U.S. rose 24.7% between June and July – but is this really a good time to buy?  MarketWatch asked the experts.

Finally…

A quick sprint through the mental latrine that is the Facebook Comments section and I need this reminder myself… pic.twitter.com/m1JYyadYF0

— Brittlestar (@brittlestar) August 16, 2020

Stay cool.  Stay safe.  Wear a mask.

Have a nice weekend.

Thank you for your continued support of Cactus Hugs.

Anything we missed? Let us know about it.