Coachella, Stagecoach Festivals Still On Despite Coronavirus

PALM SPRINGS, CA — Riverside County health and elected officials, on Thursday, looking to calm public concerns about the coronavirus, noting that plans for the Coachella Valley’s upcoming major music festivals are still on.

Read: First Confirmed Case of Coronavirus hits the Coachella Valley and Palm Springs Area

The county’s health officer, Dr. Cameron Kaiser, said there have not been any incidents of community spread of the illness in Southern California.

County officials said they are mulling over a possible emergency declaration, as has been in done by the state and Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, but no such decision has yet been made.

Read: BNP Paribas Open – Indian Wells, Plays On Amid COVID-19 Concerns

“If we do make an emergency declaration based on changes in local conditions, as a public health officer I do have the ability to shut down such large gatherings. We would do so with as much lead time as possible,” Kaiser said.

Kaiser also noted that testing for coronavirus, or COVID-19, are being done at various locations around the state, negating the need to send samples across the country to be tested by federal agencies. County officials are in the process of getting a local laboratory up and running to test for the virus, he said.

Of the 80 documented cases of novel coronavirus in the United States, 12 of the patients are in Southern California, he said, although the cases have documented origins.

“That means we do not have any community acquired cases in the Southland currently,” Kaiser said. He noted that 51 recent travelers who returned to Riverside County are being monitored by health officials.

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