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) The Coronavirus

California has now surpassed one million coronavirus cases and things are not looking good in the state or, well, anywhere in the United States right now.  Be sure to stay at a distance, wear a mask, wash your hands, and make smart decisions.

Riverside County reported 1,200 new cases and 3 additional deaths on since Tuesday. There have been 1,355 reported deaths from coronavirus this year in Riverside County.

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

November 12 — #COVID19 in the #CoachellaValley (+/- from TUESDAY):

17,075 reported cases (+190)
+574 last 7 days

385 deaths (+1)
15,371 recoveries (+81)

1,319 known active cases (+108)
+290 last 7 days pic.twitter.com/BfFnL4dADq

— Kevin Duncliffe (@kevinduncliffe) November 12, 2020

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

68 confirmed (-4)
9 suspected (+1)

77 TOTAL (-3)
+30 last 7 days

15 in ICU (+3) pic.twitter.com/b5UomfBflr

— Kevin Duncliffe (@kevinduncliffe) November 12, 2020

More:

• A group of local organizations have raised $700,000 to support farmworkers affected by coronavirus
• Palm Springs Unified School District has not finalized a date for the return of in-person instruction.
• There was great news last week at Pfizer announced its COVID-19 vaccine was showing to be 90% effective.  But now, if approved, getting the vaccine to Americans faces numerous challenges including cold storage, training, supplies and more. The New York Times breaks it all down.
• You may want to take a few minutes to review these charts about where things are head with covid this fall in the United States.  It’s not good at all.
• Seriously though, things are getting bad just about everywhere:

More Americans are currently hospitalized with Covid-19 than at any other point in the pandemic. https://t.co/3X0ro7mbYG

— Vox (@voxdotcom) November 13, 2020

Cases nationwide are trending up more quickly than at any point in the pandemic. Today’s 7-day average—nearly 130k—is 54k more than two weeks ago, a growth of 71%. pic.twitter.com/S4LUBzWW66

— The COVID Tracking Project (@COVID19Tracking) November 13, 2020

Be safe.  Wear a mask. And do not, under any circumstances, listen to this ignorant fucking asshole.

2) You would think Thanksgiving weekend 2020 might not have much traffic as normal but you would be wrong

As the coronavirus surges across the nation and health officials warn against having large gatherings for Thanksgiving, many Americans are apparently choosing to ignore all of it and head out on the roads. AAA’s most recent travel forecast for the Thanksgiving holiday found more than 3.8 million people in Southern California are expected to travel this year – which is down from last year, but only 13%, which is pretty surprising.

3) High speed chase begins in Joshua Tree, ends 3 hours later 150 miles away

A man was arrested after police say he led them on a 150-mile, three-hour pursuit that began in Joshua Tree and ended in Wilmington on Wednesday. It began a little after 9 am when an officer attempted to make a traffic stop for an expired registration on a gray Lincoln Navigator on Highway 62 near Bonair Road in Joshua Tree. According to the CHP, the driver pulled over and provided a false name.  When confronted, the 31-year-old suspect drove away in the vehicle, with a 13-month-old and a 3-month old child inside.

A chase ensued and ended three hours later near a family member’s apartment outside of Los Angeles.

Oh yes, there was a pretty big tackle involved:

an absolute SMACKDOWN pic.twitter.com/6x2JNPEs7G

— Samantha Cortese (@SamanthaCortese) November 11, 2020

4) You can soon get a Disneyland corn dog

Disneyland has been closed since the whole thing started, but Disney is opening up California Adventure’s Buena Vista Street next week with stores and restaurants and, yup, they are going to be serving up that delicious corn dog you have likely enjoyed a few times off of the red wagon on Disneyland’s Main Street USA.

We’re excited to share that Buena Vista Street opens Nov. 19, extending the #DowntownDisney District. Discover new and returning favorite menu items plus holiday gifts, apparel and more! https://t.co/01daNA1BOA pic.twitter.com/05lPh3updd

— Disneyland Resort (@Disneyland) November 5, 2020

5) Indio Police find stray pig

A stray pig was found by the Indio Police Department in the area of Arabia St and Avenue 44.  The department are calling him “carnitas” which isn’t nice, since that would make him dinner…although likely a delicious one.

Anyway, if it’s your pig, you can contact RCDAS at 760-343-3644 or 951-358-7387.

Stay safe.  Stay smart.  Practice Social Distancing.  Wear a mask.  

💚🌵