Frittelli among
3 golfers back
FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2020 | DESERTSUN.COM
Ironman triathletes participate in the bike portion of the race on Dec. 8, 2019, in La Quinta.
VICKIE CONNOR/THE DESERT SUN
Study: Ironman gave valley
economy $10 million boost
Pandemic could force cancellation
of event scheduled for December
Sherry Barkas Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY NETWORK
The 2019 Ironman race in La Quinta and Indian
Wells brought a near $10 million boost to the local
economy, according to a report from the Greater Palm
Springs Convention and Tourism Bureau.
Whether that will repeat this year depends on the
state of the coronavirus pandemic, which could force
cancellation of the December event.
Film fest resists calls to replace Mary Hart as emcee after Trump event
Brian Blueskye Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY NETWORK
Facing calls to replace former “Entertain-
ment Tonight” host Mary Hart as emcee of the
Palm Springs International Film Festival gala
after she appeared onstage at President Donald Hart
Trump’s Independence Day event at Mount
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT VALLEY, 3A
Cities step up mask enforcement
As coronavirus cases soar in the Coachella Valley,
some say the mandated use of face masks is not
enough to control the outbreak.
VICKIE CONNOR/THE DESERT SUN
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CERTIFIED FINANCIAL
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at work despite
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SPORTS, 1B
Results of an economic impact study were pre-
sented to the La Quinta City Council on Tuesday by
Scott White, president and CEO of the Greater Palm
Springs Convention and Tourism Bureau, which has
partnered with the two cities in bringing the Ironman
70.3 triathlon to the valley.
More than 3,000 athletes registered to compete in
the Dec. 8 half-marathon that began with a 1.2-mile
swim competition at Lake Cahuilla and ended at In-
dian Wells Tennis Garden. The 56-mile cycling por-
tion of the race took athletes through out to Thermal
and then back through La Quinta into the tennis gar-
See IRONMAN, Page 2A
Rushmore, the chairman’s festival says the out-
cry is unwarranted.
Hart, a part-time La Quinta resident who
has served as mistress of ceremonies for the
gala for nearly two decades, appeared at the
president’s July 3 event. Hart, a South Dakota
native, introduced Republican Gov. Kristi
Noem and during her remarks, Hart made an
Trump’s tax records
to stay private for now
In good political news for President Donald Trump,
his taxes and other financial records almost certain-
ly will be kept out of the public eye, at least until
after the November election. The Supreme Court
ruled Thursday in favor of a New York prosecutor’s
demands for Trump’s tax records. But it is unclear
when a lower court judge might order the Manhat-
tan district attorney’s subpoena to be enforced. 9A
Warning issued for heat wave
July in the Coachella Valley always means triple-
digit temperatures, but this weekend may see the
desert post a day or two of near-record heat. Tem-
peratures could reach 120 degrees. 3A
Volume 93 | No. 268
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PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
County
record:
1,377 cases
in one day
18 additional deaths reported
alongside biggest daily surge
Laine Henry Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY NETWORK
Riverside County health officials reported 1,377
new cases of COVID-19 and 18 additional virus-relat-
ed deaths on Thursday. The number denotes a sig-
nificant jump and is the county's largest single-day
tally since the pandemic began.
There are now 23,334 confirmed cases of CO-
VID-19 in the county, and 533 of those have been fa-
tal.
Putting the 1,377 new cases in Inside
context, the most the county has
ever had in a single day before California
Thursday was 856. That mark was Senate delays
set Wednesday. By comparison, its work as
last Thursday, the county reported COVID-19 cases
679 new cases; the Thursday be- escalate. 5A
fore that, it reported 237.
There is more testing now than
when the pandemic began, but it took the county 34
days — from March 7 to April 10 — to reach 1,350
cases.
Riverside County is not alone in California when it
comes to soaring case totals. As the state of Califor-
nia nears 300,000 total cases, 29 of the state's 58
counties — including Riverside, San Bernardino and
Imperial — have had closure orders imposed by the
governor. That has meant some businesses, like res-
taurants and bars, have had to close all or part of their
operations again.
See VIRUS, Page 4A
“okay” sign hand gesture with both hands.
The “okay” sign gesture — in which the thumb and
index fingers touch while the other three fingers are
outstretched — has come under recent scrutiny as a
possible signifier of white supremacy in certain con-
texts, according to the Anti-Defamation League, a
See HART, Page 10A
4A | FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2020 | THE DESERT SUN
Virus
Continued from Page 1A
Also on Thursday, the county report-
ed an increase of 7 patients that are cur-
rently hospitalized, bringing the total to
513; 117 of those individuals are in inten-
sive care units, five fewer than Wednes-
day.
The cases are broken down by age as
follows, according to health officials:
i 365 cases (1.6%) are among people
ages 0 to 4
i 1,550 cases (6.9%) are among peo-
ple ages 5 to 17
i 9,525 cases (42.5%) are among
people ages 18 to 39
i 8,330 cases (37.2%) are among
people ages 40 to 64
i 1,875 cases (8.4%) are among peo-
ple ages 65 to 79
i 772 cases (3.4%) are among people
80 years or older
COVID-19 hospitalizations at Desert
Regional Medical Center in Palm
Springs reached a new high earlier last
week, with around 60 patients. They
also have been increasing at John F.
Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio.
Virus-related hospitalizations at Ei-
senhower Health in Rancho Mirage also
have reached a peak; the facility report-
ed 74 patients as of Thursday.
County health officials reported an
additional 4,368 tests for the virus on
Thursday, along with 174 new recovered
patients bringing the total of recovered
patients to 9,246.
In San Bernardino County
San Bernardino County reported 828
new coronavirus cases and 11 additional
deaths Thursday, a day after the county
announced it had to cancel hundreds of
COVID-19 tests that had already been
scheduled due to a shortage of testing
supplies caused by supply chain disrup-
tions.
The county, home to more than 2 mil-
lion people, is also not booking any new
appointments. While county officials
say they don’t know when the issue will
be resolved, they hope to reopen the
portal over the weekend to allow ap-
pointments to be booked starting Mon-
day.
“The biggest problem we are facing
right now is that we just can’t get
enough testing supplies,” said San Ber-
nardino County Spokesman David
Wert. “We have had our orders placed,
but the companies are telling us that
they have no stock to fill them. It’s a na-
tionwide problem.”
Testing capacity dropped by about
62% in the past week across the coun-
ty’s dozen testing sites. About 450 tests
were being conducted each day per site
last week; sites are currently conduct-
ing just 170 tests per day.
Additionally, Wert said individuals
who feel they have a medical reason to
receive a COVID-19 test should immedi-
ately reach out to their primary care
physician, many of which are offering
coronavirus testing.
He did provide some updates on the
testing limits. He said all 31 testing sites
in the county, 16 of which are operated
by the county, are operating.
"No sites have been closed, they are
just administering fewer tests than orig-
inally planned," he said, adding that the
companies involved have not given the
county a timeline for when its orders
will be filled.
Thursday's total, the second-largest
one-day addition since testing began,
means the county has now reported a
total of 17,414 cases and 304 deaths. The
county projects that 9,466 people have
recovered.
About half the cases are among peo-
ple under age 40. The cases are broken
down by age as follows, according to
health officials:
i 908 cases are among people ages 0
to 14
i 669 cases are among people ages
15-19
i 3,782 cases are among people ages
20-29
i 3,418 cases are among people ages
30-39
i 2,961 cases are among people ages
40-49
i 2,637 cases are among people ages
50-59
i 1,666 cases are among people ages
60-69
About 20
Coachella
Coachella Valley:
Cases so far
Valley leaders
were tested Officials reported 363 new cases and 6
for coronavirus new deaths in the Coachella Valley's
at the nine cities since Wednesday. Here's the
Riverside city and community breakdown, with
County the numbers in parentheses showing
Fairgrounds in increases over the past day:
Indio, Calif.,
on May 27. h Cathedral City: 852 cases (+56) and 7
TAYA GRAY/THE deaths (+1)
DESERT SUN h Coachella: 1,365 cases (+61) and 13
deaths (+1)
i 1,358 cases are among people older h Desert Hot Springs: 396 cases (+27)
than 70 and 5 deaths (+2)
i The ages for 15 cases are unknown. h Indian Wells: 23 cases (+1) and 0
An additional 2,768 tests were con- deaths
ducted in the past 24 hours, officials re-
ported Thursday, bringing the county's h Indio: 1,769 cases (+91) and 42 deaths
total number of tests to 169,876. The h La Quinta: 387 cases (+21) and 11
county did not meet its target goal of deaths
conducting 3,288 tests, or more, in a 24
hour period. h Palm Desert: 536 cases (+20) and 31
About 10.3% of people in the county deaths (+1)
who have been tested have been con- h Palm Springs: 432 cases (+28) and 17
firmed to have coronavirus. deaths (+1)
The number of serology — or anti-
body — tests increased to 17,495, with a h Rancho Mirage: 120 cases (+5) and 12
postive rate of less than 1%, according to deaths
county data. Wert, however, said the h Unincorporated communities:
county stopped administering serology Bermuda Dunes: 64 cases (+2) and 1
tests after receiving new guidance from death; Desert Edge: 20 cases and 2
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. deaths; Desert Palms: 27 cases (+2)
As of Tuesday, when the county last and 2 deaths; Garnet: 91 cases (+5) and
reported, there were 511 COVID-19 pa- 0 deaths; Mecca: 212 cases (+12) and 6
tients hospitalized, a 2% increase from deaths; North Shore: 75 cases (+2) and
the previous day. Eighty of the county's 1 death; Oasis: 149 cases (+12) and 0
1,127 surge capacity beds are currently in deaths; Sky Valley: 17 cases (+1) and 0
use. deaths; Thermal: 90 cases (+6) and 0
There are 325 ventilators in use out of deaths; Thousand Palms: 84 cases (+9)
the county's 784 ventilators. The county and 0 deaths; Vista Santa Rosa: 51
reports a ventilator utilization rate of cases (+4) and 1 death
41.5%.
Here is the list of cases and deaths in h State of California: 296,499 (+7,031)
the high desert. Changes from Wednes- cases and 6,711 (+149) deaths,
day are in parentheses: according to data released Thursday.
i Adelanto: 224 cases (+9), 5 deaths
i Apple Valley: 239 cases (+9), 2
deaths mountain communities:
i Barstow: 81 cases (+1), 2 deaths i Big Bear City: 7 cases
i Fort Irwin: 2 cases i Big Bear Lake: 13 cases (+2)
i Hesperia: 470 cases (+26), 3 i Blue Jay: 1 death
deaths i Crestline: 25 cases (+2), 2 deaths
i Joshua Tree: 22 cases, 2 deaths i Rimforest: 1 case (+1)
i Morongo Valley: 11 cases i Running Springs: 11 cases
i Oak Hills: 53 cases (+1), 1 death i Wrightwood: 3 cases
i Phelan: 62 cases (+5) Laine Henry is an intern at The Des-
i Twentynine Palms: 16 cases ert Sun. You may reach him at
i Victorville: 808 cases (+62), 9 laine.henry@desertsun.com
deaths (+1) Martin Estacio of the Victorville Dai-
i Yucca Valley: 70 cases (+1), 1 death ly Press and Nicole Hayden of The Desert
Here is the list of cases and deaths in Sun contributed to this report.
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If not us, who?
If not now, when?
In the summer, our population dips by about 30 percent, and we have an increased
need for residents to donate blood. That’s why we’re holding our 9 Cities Blood
Drive Challenge every day in July and August.
Blood is needed every day. Whether it’s for illness, accidents, or surgeries, we can’t
save lives without you.
Please, make a donation — and make a difference.
Call LifeStream Blood Bank at 800-TRY-GIVING or visit LStream.org/9cities.
DS-TDS0010888-12