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:

• 51,528 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.  228 people have been reported positive since Friday.
• 984 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus. The county reported 6 new deaths in the last 24 hours.

Here’s the latest from the Coachella Valley:

August 26 — #COVID19 in the #CoachellaValley (+/- from Tuesday):

13,267 confirmed cases (+48)
+544 since last Wednesday

300 deaths (+1)

My apologies for a major reporting error yesterday, Aug 25. I reported 211 new cases when I should have reported 98. A huge difference. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/Ea9QwhUt5j

— Kevin Duncliffe (@kevinduncliffe) August 26, 2020

This was a serious error, and I offer a heartfelt apology to anyone misled by my erroneous posts yesterday, and in particular to those who retweeted or linked to them. (3/3)

— Kevin Duncliffe (@kevinduncliffe) August 26, 2020

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

58 confirmed (+4)
20 suspected (-18)

78 TOTAL (-14)
-26 from last Tuesday, down 25%

15 of confirmed/suspected patients are in ICU (-3) pic.twitter.com/NCbjtPMxZM

— Kevin Duncliffe (@kevinduncliffe) August 26, 2020

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

• 46,051 people have officially tested positive for COVID-19.
• 709 people are confirmed to have died in the county from the coronavirus.

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

• 683,924 people have official tested positive for COVID-19.
• 12,471 people are confirmed to have died in the state of CA from the coronavirus.

Happening right now:

– Hurricane Laura nearing LA & TX
– Jacob Blake protests in Kenosha
– NBA playoff games postponed
– 17-yr-old arrested after killing two
– Night 3 of Republican convention
– Coronavirus death toll passes 179k

— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) August 26, 2020

A brief roundup of local items is below, but first a short followup…

I had posted yesterday about my experience with a COVID-19 test and the lengthy waiting time for results. Today, after over a week, they came in: I tested negative for coronavirus.  Though I have not had any symptoms, it still came as a relief.  At the same time, it’s just so damn frustrating that people in the wealthiest country in the nation are still, after all these months, forced to wait so long for results. With everything going on in the nation today, I am just going to leave it at that and keep the following update brief.  To those who checked in over the past 24 hours, I appreciate your messages and support.

As frustrating as it has been for many to wait for the test results, the governor of California is promising it will get better. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday announced a new testing contract he claims will allow for results in one to two days. “Once you get past a couple days, testing results lose meaning in significance to mitigate spread of disease in terms of contact tracing, quarantining and isolating,” Newsom said. “What is significant in this partnership is we are demanding test results back in 24 hours, (at) the latest 48 hours, and we have provisions in the contract to guarantee that turnaround time.”

NEW: CA is DOUBLING our testing capacity and SIGNIFICANTLY bringing down wait times and cost.

– Adding up to 150,000 tests per day
– Guaranteeing 24-48 hour turnaround time.

Because access to #COVID19 testing should be a given.

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) August 26, 2020

The CDC, to the surprise of many, changed their guidelines about who should be tested this week.  The new guidelines state that asymptomatic people may not need to be tested for the coronavirus, even if they’ve been in close contact with an infected person and could, without knowing it, be spreading the virus to others. Notable, the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force discussed the new guidelines while Dr. Anthony Fauci was undergoing surgery and under anesthesia:

JUST IN: Dr. Anthony Fauci says he was undergoing surgery when the White House coronavirus task force discussed new CDC testing guidelines https://t.co/j9CyUysBGd pic.twitter.com/kj11RdB3Ly

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) August 26, 2020

American Medical Assn: "Suggesting that people without symptoms, who have known exposure to COVID-positive individuals, do not need testing is a recipe for community spread and more spikes in coronavirus… When the CDC updates guidance, the agency should provide a rationale."

— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) August 26, 2020

Desert Chapel Christian School and King’s School in Palm Springs and Palm Valley School in Rancho Mirage have formally asked the county to allow students from kindergarten through sixth grade to return to in-person classes in the coming weeks.  The requests are now being reviewed by the county’s health director and would need to be reviewed by the state.

Draughtsman in Palm Springs has announced it has closed its doors. “After three unforgettable years, we have made the difficult decision to close our doors for good,” a message on the bar’s website states. “We looked at the situation every possible way, but in the end, we just couldn’t figure out how to make ends meet in light of the drastic reduction in business as a result of this pandemic.”

Where do things stand now?  Well, this week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance to retailers that states the following: Don’t argue with customers who refuse to wear masks due to the possibility of workplace violence in the forms of threats, verbal assault and physical assault. You can see the guidance here and, just remember, all this from simply asking people to wear a mask in their store to keep other shoppers and employees safe.  And yet, here we are. Unbelievable.

Finally…

I love Doc Rivers…this is powerful #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/WK0VgpPdIh

— Icculus The Brave (@FirenzeMike) August 26, 2020

Every word Chris Webber says here should be listened to. pic.twitter.com/L2mKUqEHL1

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) August 26, 2020

If not now, when?

Stay cool.  Stay safe.  Wear a mask.

Thank you for your continued support of Cactus Hugs.

Anything we missed? Let us know about it.