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July

The press is (mostly) decided that Black Lives Matter and related racial justice protests don’t actually spread COVID-19. Meanwhile, Trump backs off some of his in-person events under accusations for COVID-related reasons, and events like parties are routinely characterized as dangerous.

Fall lockdowns are recommended by WHO and the media more broadly, school reopening becomes a highly contentious issue as some k-12 schools intend to go remote in the fall. The “reopening” in the spring is often called “botched.”

Mask mandates are instituted in several cities and states and are encouraged, sometimes to the point of hysteria, society-wide.

As the Fourth of July approaches, Americans are warned to not go out or celebrate, many firework events are cancelled as well. Trump rings in the Fourth of July at Mount Rushmore, while not wearing a mask, much to the anger of the press.

Meanwhile, Fauci delivers a wide first pitch at a Washington Nationals games, and is captured in photographs not wearing a mask in largely empty stands with his wife and a friend.

A particularly weird form of reporting emerges on people who died or nearly died of COVID-19 who either didn’t wear masks, disobeyed lockdown orders, or who were victims of those who did.

Calls for absentee voting measures increase as a means to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Several news articles lament the strain of lockdowns, social distancing, and mask mandates on small businesses, with many closing for good.

The federal government invests billions of dollars in Moderna and Pfizer for vaccine development, and more vaccine trials begin. Discussion ensues as to how to encourage, coerce, or force Americans to take the vaccine once it is rolled out.

Key Dates and Stories:

  • July 1: Little evidence that protests spread coronavirus in U.S.
  • July 1: Trump campaign backs off in-person events as coronavirus cases pick up
  • July 2: Don’t ‘balance lives against the economy’ in unprecedented pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci warns
  • July 8: Trump administration begins formal withdrawal from World Health Organization
  • July 8: Trump threatens to cut funding for schools, slams CDC reopening guidelines as too tough and expensive
  • July 11: Trump just wore a mask in public for the first time
  • July 13: Dr. Anthony Fauci says U.S. coronavirus cases are surging because nation didn’t totally shut down
  • July 14: Trump, in full reversal, urges Americans to wear masks
  • July 15: Facebook will launch a new section to debunk coronavirus myths
  • July 16: Anti-Mask Rallies Continue In U.S. Amid Rising Coronavirus Cases And Deaths
  • July 18: Pub puts ‘Cuomo Chips and Salsa’ on the menu in response to New York rule on food and alcohol
  • July 20: As COVID-19 cases increase, most Americans support ‘no excuse’ absentee voting
  • July 22: Small businesses are closing down at an alarming rate, and it could get worse, economist says
  • July 22: U.S. agrees to pay Pfizer and BioNTech $2 billion for 100 million doses of coronavirus vaccine
  • July 26: Trump administration invests $472M more in Moderna vaccine candidate
  • July 27: Moderna’s mRNA vaccine reaches its final phase. Here's how it works.
  • July 29: Dr. Fauci on Trump criticism: ‘I have not been misleading the American public under any circumstances’

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