Riverside County health officials have announced three new cases of the novel coronavirus in the Coachella Valley, raising new questions about the fate of next month’s Coachella music festival.

The individuals are believed to have traveled to an area with a known outbreak, or had contact with a known case, said Riverside County‘s public health officer, Dr. Cameron Kaiser. Two of the individuals have been isolated at home.

The third is at a Coachella Valley hospital. Riverside County announced its first locally-acquired case of a patient who is at Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage.

The source of exposure is currently unknown and is considered a result of community transmission. Kaiser recommends that those in the Coachella Valley who are elderly and have underlying health conditions limit nonessential travel and avoid large public gatherings.


Riverside County also has a second confirmed case from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

The passenger is receiving treatment at a Northern California hospital and has not been to Riverside County since leaving the ship.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the county is six.

Riverside County declared a public health emergency after confirming its first case of the coronavirus.


As of Sunday, Kaiser said no decisions have been made yet about the fate of the Coachella music festival, which is scheduled for the second and third weekends of April.

Organizers of the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday canceled this year’s tournament at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.