The COVID-19 History Project

This really happened.

This Day in COVID: July 18, 2020

Half of Black workers in Minnesota have lost work during pandemic

More than one-quarter of Black workers were still making weekly unemployment claims last month, compared with 9% of white workers.

Star Tribune

FDA Issues First Emergency Authorization for Sample Pooling in Diagnostic Testing

FDA issued first emergency authorization for sample pooling in COVID-19 diagnostic testing to Quest Diagnostics for its Quest SARS-CoV-2 rRT-PCR test.

FDA

Trump reportedly seeks to block testing funds as Covid-19 surges across south and west

US logs more than 70,000 new cases a day as stimulus debated but report says Senate Republicans frustrated by White House stance

The Guardian

Man who died in motorcycle crash counted as COVID-19 death in Florida: Report

A man who died in a motorcycle crash was counted as a COVID-19 death in Florida, according to a new report fromFOX 35 Orlando. According to the report, Orange County Health Officer Dr. Raul Pino was asked whether two coronavirus victims in their 20s had any underlying medical conditions that could have potentially made them more susceptible to the virus. Pino's answer was that one of the two people who was listed as a COVID death actually died in a motorcycle crash.

CBS12

Trump doesn’t think US needs a national mask mandate

CNN

‘No mask, no entry. Is that clear enough? That seems pretty clear, right?’

Washington Post

Coronavirus catcalling is real. Mask or no mask, harassment is all about power.

Not even a global pandemic can keep cisgender men from attempting to assert their perceived dominance in public.

NBC

Face masks turn us into voiceless submissives - and it’s not science forcing us to wear them, it’s politics

PETER HITCHENS: The Government began its wild, disproportionate shutdown of the country by spreading fear of a devastating plague that would destroy the NHS and kill untold thousands.

Daily Mail

As retail chain mandates loom, mask-wearing is the new normal for Upper Valley shoppers

V News

Medical residency is always hard; now 38,000 trainees are starting during a pandemic

CNN

Trump and the virus-era China ban that isn’t

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's “ban” on travel from China is his go-to point when defending his response to the coronavirus pandemic.

AP News

As virus surges in some US states, emergency rooms swamped

In Texas, Dr. Alison Haddock of the Baylor College of Medicine said the current situation is worse than after Hurricane Harvey, which swamped Houston with floodwaters in 2017. The state reported a new daily record for virus deaths Friday and more than 10,000 confirmed cases for the fourth consecutive day.

PBS

Our Mission

The COVID-19 History Project is a curated archive of the events and policy decisions surrounding the emergence of COVID-19.

The pandemic era of 2020-2022 saw massive increases in restrictions on daily life—enforced by the government and by social stigma—accompanied social protests that roiled cities worldwide

In the United States alone, trillions of dollars were spent by the federal government to offset the forced closure of businesses and the devastation of normal life.

The impacts of these policy decisions are still being felt today.

Some would like us to forget the actions and people that played a significant role during the pandemic.

But we of the COVID-19 History Project don't want to forget. Through our work, we hope there will always be an archive to learn from and interpret this fascinating, disturbing, time in world history.

The Timeline

In order to learn from the mistakes of the past, and give COVID-19 decision makers the credit—both good and bad—they deserve, we have compiled a media timeline from every day of the pandemic.

We have endeavored to make the timeline comprehensive without being duplicative, following the major trends as they unfolded.

We provided analyses for each month highlighting major events, but encourage readers to make their own conclusions about these events as well.

This Day in COVID: July 18, 2021

Details

With pandemic in mind, pared-back hajj in Mecca for 2nd year

AP News

COVID-19 Clinical Education Series

The COVID-19 Clinical Education Series: Clarifying Evidence-Based Information project was born from the urgency created by the continuing worldwide COVID-19 crisis. This project strives to disseminate timely, accurate and evidence-based information regarding COVID-19 to a worldwide audience.

Harvard University

In Pictures: Indonesia volunteer undertakers carry COVID dead

Volunteers provide help as Indonesia struggles to cope with a devastating wave of COVID cases from the Delta variant.

Al Jazeera

Thailand expands lockdown as COVID cases continue to rise

Lockdown imposed in three more provinces as Thailand’s COVID-19 cases break records for a third straight day.

Al Jazeera

Covid:-19 Decision on vaccinations for under-18s 'within days'

It comes as every adult in the UK has now been offered a vaccine, the government says.

BBC

Covid: Is China's vaccine success waning in Asia?

Thailand and Indonesia's switch to other Covid jabs has raised questions about Chinese vaccines.

BBC

Patience of border residents is tested as coronavirus closure keeps getting extended

SANTA EULALIA, Mexico — Rogelio Martinez is fully vaccinated and eagerly waiting for the border to reopen so he can return to work hundreds of miles away in...

Dallas News

Delta variant takes hold in developing world as infections soar

Poorer countries with low vaccination rates face surge in Covid cases and deaths

Financial Times

Former surgeon general says CDC 'premature' to ease mask rules as delta variant spreads

Dr. Jerome Adams expressed regret over his dismissal of masks early in the pandemic and warned against repeating his mistake in the face of the highly transmissible variant.

NBC News

U.S. Tennis Star Coco Gauff Tests Positive For Coronavirus And Will Miss Olympics

The 17-year-old was expected to lead the U.S. tennis team at the Tokyo Olympics. A positive coronavirus test has dashed her hopes of competing in the Games.

NPR

Will Americans Lose Their Right to Vote in the Pandemic? (Published 2020)

The New York Times

With pandemic worsening in US, surgeon general worried

Noting that nearly all coronavirus deaths now are among the tens of millions of people who haven't received shots, despite widespread vaccine availability, Dr. Vivek Murthy painted an unsettling picture of what the future could hold.

PBS

Nepal's new PM wins confidence vote amid coronavirus crisis

Reuters

Australians believe states managing Covid pandemic better than Canberra, study finds

Support for Morrison government’s handling of coronavirus outbreak is dropping, while states and territories ‘have shone’, Australia Institute reveals

The Guardian

Keep wearing masks to slow spread of Covid, scientists warn Britons

Experts point to risks of indoor Covid-19 transmission: ‘If you don’t wear a mask, the virus spreads further. It’s as simple as that’

The Guardian

Wall of love: the incredible story behind the national Covid memorial

How bereaved campaigners, with help from the activists Led By Donkeys, produced a powerful tribute to the UK’s pandemic victims

The Guardian

Q&A with Daniel Dae Kim: Keeping the secrets on ‘Lost,’ taking a stand on ‘Hawaii Five-O’ and working to protect Asian Americans

The Washington Post

Boris Johnson back in coronavirus quarantine on eve of Britain’s ‘Freedom Day’

The Washington Post

Los Angeles County sheriff refuses to enforce latest mask mandate

Washington Times

Biden’s surgeon general backs localized mask mandates as delta variant drives rise in covid cases

The Washington Post