Welcome to 5 Things to Know – a daily rundown of things you might want to be aware of if you live in, visit, or just like being aware about what’s going on in Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. As always, thank you for your continued support of Cactus Hugs.

1) Back to the Purple Tier We Go

Welp, here we go again.

Following a third week of “widespread” coronavirus transmission, state officials have placed Riverside County back into the purple tier, which means that several sectors of the economy will now be made to close again by the end of the week including indoor dining, gyms, movie theaters, and more.

“The state believes additional time and adjudication will not rectify (our case rate),” Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser said in a statement. “We are informed by the state that Riverside County will return to the purple tier (Tuesday).”

And while moving back certainly sucks, the county needs to find a way to get this virus under control.  Perhaps this time around our leaders will figure out an approach that isn’t simply to do the same things and hope for different results.

We’ll see.

State announces Riverside County moved back to purple tier, businesses to adjust within 72 hours. Visit https://t.co/B0PcBKTHe0 for information and updates. #RivCoNOW #RUHealth pic.twitter.com/1T5cxFQbR5

— Dr. Cameron Kaiser (@RivCoDoc) October 20, 2020

2) The Coronavirus

Riverside County reported 593 new cases and one new death in the last 23 hours. There have been 1,273 reported deaths from coronavirus this year in Riverside County.

Here is the latest on what’s going on in the desert:

October 20 — #COVID19 in the #CoachellaValley (+/- from day before):

15,515 reported cases (+128)
+389 last 7 days

360 deaths (+1)
14,449 recoveries (+48)

706 known active cases (+79)
+96 last 7 days

Highest number of known active cases since September 11. pic.twitter.com/5cqbuapoL8

— Kevin Duncliffe (@kevinduncliffe) October 20, 2020

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

44 confirmed (+2)
11 suspected (+3)

55 TOTAL (+5)
+9 last 7 days

10 in ICU (-2) pic.twitter.com/XKGbzbntQq

— Kevin Duncliffe (@kevinduncliffe) October 20, 2020

More:

• While the virus is spreading “uncontrollably” throughout much of the country right now, it’s not nearly as bad in most of California.  Why?  The San Francisco Chronicle gets into that here.
• ABC 7 looks at how things have changed inside Riverside County courthouses during the pandemic.
• California’s theme parks were given guidelines to reopening on Tuesday.  Disneyland responded almost immediately, saying that the guidelines don’t work for them and they won’t be opening anytime soon:

pic.twitter.com/7puslis82y

— Disney Parks News (@DisneyParksNews) October 20, 2020

3) COD will be Going Almost Completely Virtual (Again) for Spring Classes

College of the Desert announced on Tuesday that  they will offer courses predominately online during the upcoming 2021 Winter Intersession and Spring Semester, with at least 95% of all sections being delivered completely in an online format.

The college noted in a press release that there will be some in-person instruction when necessary: “Programs that have external agency and legal mandates that require face-to-face instruction will be prioritized first, with preference being given to offering all necessary clinical and lab sections of Nursing that require hands-on instruction. Classes following this hybrid approach will follow all College, county and state guidelines for in-person learning.”

“When planning the upcoming semesters, we carefully considered the safety of our students, faculty and staff and we believe this plan will provide our students with the safest, least disruptive approach to earning their degrees and certificates during the pandemic,” said Superintendent/President Joel L. Kinnamon, Ed.D.

Course registration will begin on Tuesday, December 1.

4) It May be a Bit Before We Get County Election Results

It may be a while until we learn who won close races in Riverside County this election season. Registrar of Voters Rebecca Spencer told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that voters might need to wait several weeks.

“If it’s a close contest, so if it’s within two percentage points… we don’t expect to certify until December 3,” Spencer said. That’s because the ballots that are dropped off on election day and the provisional ballots all need to be signature verified.”

And hey, as long as every vote is counted, who cares if it takes a little bit to get it right.

5) More CV Link Might Actually be Coming

The long hyped CV Link currently boasts only a bit more than 3 miles of completed pathway in the Coachella Valley for joggers, walkers, and, for some weird reason, people in electric carts –  but it looks like more could finally be built as $52.733 million worth of contracts has been authorized to build another 20 miles of the project:

Stay safe.  Stay smart.  Wear a mask.

GO DODGERS!

💚🌵