COVID-19 Timeline Project

Commentary: Tens of millions of Americans are cashless, many desperate to feed their children. Meanwhile the richest Americans merrily float on a rapidly rising tide of money thanks mainly to Trump & Co. An analysis of Federal Reserve data shows a record flow of greenbacks let the corporate rich pour trillions of dollars into their accounts as they fired tens of millions. Now that money just sits, idle.
The Director of Public Health at UCSFAcronymUniversity of California, San Francisco, Dr. George Rutherford, states there are three ways large protests could result in a spike of coronavirus cases. First, if masks aren’t worn properly.; Second, if crowds aren’t social distancing.; The third fear revolves around tear gas or pepper spray. “It tends to have people rub their eyes, that’s one of the ways you can take it off a surface.”

China said it will allow U.S. passenger airlines to resume limited service to China, one day after the Trump administration said it will bar Chinese passenger airlines flying to and from the U.S. starting in mid-June. It’s not immediately clear whether the U.S. will go forward with its ban on Chinese airlines in light of China relaxing its restrictions on U.S. carriers.
Nearly half of commercial retail rents were not paid in May. Companies as big as Starbucks say the financial devastation from the shutdown has left them unable to pay their full property bills on time. Some companies warn they will not be able to pay rent for months. Such retailers as Bed Bath & Beyond, Famous Footwear, H&M, and the Gap, movie theaters AMC and Regal, and gyms like 24 Hour Fitness stopped paying rent entirely in May.
Thousands of U.S. nursing homes are still under-equipped for the continuing Coronavirus onslaught. The data offers a statistical portrait of an industry at the center of the pandemic’s fury still unable to properly care for its 1.4 million residents. Nearly 2,000 facilities reported a shortage of nursing staff and more than 2,200 said they lack enough aides.
Law enforcement agents have seized hundreds of cloth masks that read “Stop killing Black people” and “Defund police” that a Black Lives Matter-affiliated organization sent to cities around the country to protect demonstrators against the spread of COVID-19, a disease that has had a disparate impact on Black communities.
The medical journal Lancet published a statement from the authors of a study showing that hydroxychloroquine was dangerous for hospitalized covid-19 patients, saying they “can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources” and retracted their report.
Pennsylvania – Stay-at-home order expires. Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, took a county-by-county approach to shutting down before issuing a statewide stay-at-home order on April 1. He is taking a similar approach to reopening, allowing counties to open in phases. By June 5, all of the state will be in some phase of reopening.

US Dept of Labor Report: The total number of people claiming initial jobless benefits for the week ending June 6 was 1.57 million, a decrease of 331 thousand from the previous week.
Commentary: “President Trump declared the pandemic ‘over,’ then used it to justify eliminating environmental and safety rules.”
The Economy Is Experiencing an Epic Collapse of Demand. In normal times, when there is a negative supply shock the pain can be intense for people in sectors directly affected, yet the economy as a whole adjusts. This crisis caused by the Coronavirus is so large and so sudden that the usual adjustment mechanisms aren’t working very well. The result is that what started as a disruption to the supply side of the economy has metastasized into a collapse of the demand side.

President trump press brief: ” we want the continued blanket lockdown to end for the states. We may have some embers or some ashes or we may have some flames coming, but we’ll put them out. We’ll stomp them out. We understand this now. We’ll stomp them out and we’ll stomp them out very, very powerfully.”
Commentary: President Trump’s latest messages on the pandemic are almost indistinguishable from the one he was sending at the very beginning: Everything is under control.
North Carolina is among nearly two dozen states seeing climbing infection rates as they partly reopen their economies. Some of those numbers nationwide reflect increased testing capacity. Still, hospitalizations in North Carolina hit a record high today. The state saw 1,370 new diagnoses confirmed on June 6, a new record.
Coronavirus cases are rising in 20 U.S. States. Updated data shows that health officials in 20 U.S. states have confirmed rising case counts over the past seven days, with sharp spikes reported in North Carolina, Arizona and California. All three states, like most others in the U.S., have recently begun to reopen.
An analysis of tax and securing filings from 60 large national hospital chains that collectively received more than $15 billion of CARES ActCARES ActThe Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (H.R. 748), also known as the CARES Act, is a law intended to address the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. As a result of bipartisan negotiations, the bill grew to $2 trillion in the version unanimously passed and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27. Unprecedented in size and scope, this legislation is the largest-ever economic stimulus package in U.S. history, amounting to 10% of total U.S. gross domestic product. funding, reveals a lot of the funding went into the pockets of the CEOs while thousands of employees — health care and support workers — were furloughed, laid off, or had their pay cut. HCAAcronymHCA Healthcare is an American for-profit operator of healthcare facilities that was founded in 1968., which received $1 billion in CARES ActCARES ActThe Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (H.R. 748), also known as the CARES Act, is a law intended to address the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. As a result of bipartisan negotiations, the bill grew to $2 trillion in the version unanimously passed and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27. Unprecedented in size and scope, this legislation is the largest-ever economic stimulus package in U.S. history, amounting to 10% of total U.S. gross domestic product. funding has received OSHA complaints from staff at 19 hospitals over lack of PPEAcronymPPE - Personal Protective Equipment, for medical use. Includes face masks, disposable gloves, and disposable protective garments. Intended to protect medical workers from catching contagious diseases and to prevent the spread of diseases to other patients by medical workers..
It appears the jobs report has been inaccurate for the last two months. BLSAcronymThe Bureau of Labor Statistics is a unit of the United States Department of Labor. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics and serves as a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System. has admitted that government household survey takers mistakenly counted about 4.9 million people as employed, although they were unemployed. Had the mistake been corrected, the unemployment rate would have risen to 16.1% in May. The corrected April figure would have been more than 19.5%—rather than 14.7%.
The U.S. economy ended its longest expansion in history in February and entered recession as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research said in a statement its members “concluded that the unprecedented magnitude of the decline in employment and production, and its broad reach across the entire economy, warrants the designation of this episode as a recession, even if it turns out to be briefer than earlier contractions.”
AEG, the parent company of the second-largest concert promoter in America, will significantly cut its staff because of the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. In a company-wide memo sent to employees, Chief Executive Dan Beckerman wrote, “This global pandemic has disrupted life for everyone, and the shelter-in-place orders, while critical to flatten the curve, have dealt a devastating blow to our businesses. It is clear now that live events with fans will not resume for many months and likely not until sometime in 2021, so we are faced with no easy options.” The cuts, according to the memo, will include a combination of layoffs, furloughs and salary reductions set to take place July 1.
The last cruise liner still carrying passengers has made its final port of call. After a six-month odyssey around the world, the MV Artania cruise ship tied up in the Germany port of Bremerhaven on Monday, delivering its eight guests to a world vastly changed from the one they set sail in. This ends an epic return voyage from Australia that saw the ship make numerous diversions en route to drop off crew members.

Arizona is one of the 19 states with the trend of new coronavirus cases still increasing. While 24 are trending downward, seven states’ trends are holding steady. At its peak, Arizona’s intensive care unit beds were 78% in use. As of Monday, 76% were occupied. Arizona’s Director of Health Services Dr. Cara Christ asked that hospitals “be judicious” in elective surgeries to ensure bed capacity.
Tens of thousands of Ohioans are being told to repay unemployment benefits. Since March 15, new claims have inundated the unemployment system at a level not seen since the Great Depression. People waited weeks and months to have their claims processed and money disbursed. And an increasing number are being ordered to give it all back. According to the department, since March 15, 23,597 people have accounts listed as overpaid for reasons other than fraud – about 3.5% of the people who have received benefits.
During the height of the pandemic, the VAAcronymVA - United States Department of Veterans Affairs, a federal Cabinet-level agency that provides near-comprehensive healthcare services to eligible military veterans at VA medical centers and outpatient clinics.‘s 170 medical centers were going through 250,000 N95 masks per day. Now, the VAAcronymVA - United States Department of Veterans Affairs, a federal Cabinet-level agency that provides near-comprehensive healthcare services to eligible military veterans at VA medical centers and outpatient clinics. has about a 30-day supply. but it really needs a 60-day supply to address demands as the VAAcronymVA - United States Department of Veterans Affairs, a federal Cabinet-level agency that provides near-comprehensive healthcare services to eligible military veterans at VA medical centers and outpatient clinics. moves to fully reopen its medical centers. To handle a possible second wave of COVID-19, it would need a six-month supply. The VAAcronymVA - United States Department of Veterans Affairs, a federal Cabinet-level agency that provides near-comprehensive healthcare services to eligible military veterans at VA medical centers and outpatient clinics. is currently spending $100 million per month for PPEAcronymPPE - Personal Protective Equipment, for medical use. Includes face masks, disposable gloves, and disposable protective garments. Intended to protect medical workers from catching contagious diseases and to prevent the spread of diseases to other patients by medical workers. compared with $10 million per month before the pandemic.
The American Civil Liberties Union, along with two other immigrant advocacy organizations, files the first lawsuit against stringent border restrictions related to coronavirus that largely bar migrants from entering the United States.
President Trump plans to restart his campaign rallies on Juneteenth in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a city with a troubled racial history. President Trump also plans to visit Florida, North Carolina, Arizona and Texas. The President has not held a rally since early March, when all in-person campaign events were halted due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The sign-up page for tickets to President Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa includes a disclaimer noting that attendees “voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19” and agree not to hold the campaign or venue liable should they get sick.
Virginia – Stay-at-home order expires. Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, announces that most of Virginia would begin phase one of reopening starting May 15, when salons could open by appointment and restaurants and bars could allow outdoor dining in most counties. Phase one reopening excluded Richmond and northern Virginia counties near Washington, D.C. Phase two reopening starts June 12.

The White House is floating a theory that travel from Mexico may be contributing to a new wave of coronavirus infections, rather than states’ efforts to reopen their economies. The notion was discussed at some length during a meeting of the administration’s coronavirus task force in the White House Situation Room that focused, in part, on identifying commonalities among new outbreaks.
The White House’s top economic advisers shrugg off concerns of a potential “second wave” of the coronavirus, reflecting President Trump’s eagerness to continue reopening broad swaths of the country even as cases of Covid-19 are spiking in more than a dozen states. Larry KudlowLarry KudlowLawrence Alan Kudlow is the Director of the United States National Economic Council. He assumed that role in 2018 after previous employment as a financial analyst and a television financial news host. Kudlow began his career as a junior financial analyst at the New York Federal Reserve. states “There is no emergency. There is no second wave. I don’t know where that got started on Wall Street.”
In the battle against COVID-19, public health workers spread across states, cities and small towns make up an invisible army on the front lines. But that army is under assault when it’s needed most. Elected officials and members of the public frustrated with the lockdowns and safety restrictions are turning public health workers into politicized punching bags, battering them with countless angry calls and even physical threats. At least 27 state and local health leaders have resigned, retired or been fired since April across 13 states. Public health officials ignored, pressured, or forced out, show that science and public safety is taking a back seat to political expediency.

The coronavirus’ brutal impact on African Americans and other minorities may never be fully known because of consistent gaps in gathering data on race and ethnicity that persist more than four months into the pandemic. Despite rising pressure on the Trump administration to fix the data deficits, 52 percent of reported coronavirus cases in the U.S. are still missing information on race or ethnicity. Recent federal guidance on gathering more of that data through testing won’t start until August.
Coronavirus survival comes with a $1.1 million, 181-page price tag. A man who spent 62 days recovering from coronavirus in a hospital. The total tab for his bout with the coronavirus: $1.1 million. $1,122,501.04, to be exact. All in one bill that’s more like a book because it runs to 181 pages.
Dr. Rebekah JonesDr. Rebekah JonesRebekah D. Jones is an American whistleblower and geographer specialized in Geographic Information System data science to track hurricanes, epidemiology, and climatology. In September 2018, she became a GIS Analyst at Florida Department of Health in Tallahassee. In May 2020 she was fired after alleging that the Florida Department of Health pressured her to strategically align COVID-19 case data with Florida's goal to reopen the state. has created a new dashboard that looks a lot like the Florida state health department’s, but with key differences that reflect politicized arguments about reopening states. By her dashboard, only two of the state’s 67 counties currently meet the state’s criteria for further easing restrictions.
Larry KudlowLarry KudlowLawrence Alan Kudlow is the Director of the United States National Economic Council. He assumed that role in 2018 after previous employment as a financial analyst and a television financial news host. Kudlow began his career as a junior financial analyst at the New York Federal Reserve. said Sunday that the $600 checks being sent to Americans on unemployment as part of coronavirus relief efforts are expected to end in July and called them a “disincentive” for people to get back to work.
At least 42,000 workers remain trapped on cruise ships without paychecks, and some still are suffering from COVID-19, three months after the industry shut down. Earlier this month about 5,200 cruise line workers were flown home to destinations in Europe, South America, the Phillippines, Greece, Dubai, and the United States.

In an interview, Dr. Anthony FauciDr. Anthony FauciAnthony Stephen Fauci is an American physician and immunologist who has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984 was asked why government health officials claimed back in February that wearing facemasks wasn’t important for slowing the spread of coronavirus. Dr. Fauci explained “Well, the reason for that is that we were concerned the public health community, and many people were saying this, were concerned that it was at a time when personal protective equipment, including the N95 masks and the surgical masks, were in very short supply. And we wanted to make sure that the people, namely the health care workers who were brave enough to put themselves in harm’s way, to take care of people who you know were infected with the coronavirus and the danger of them getting infected.”
Vice President Mike Pence pens an OpEd announcing the federal government’s “success” in containing the US’s coronavirus epidemic and slamming the press for “sounding the alarm bells over a ‘second wave'” of Covid-19 infections. “Thanks to the leadership of President Trump and the courage and compassion of the American people, our public health system is far stronger than it was four months ago, and we are winning the fight against the invisible enemy.”
Florida’s Department of Health confirms 2,783 additional cases of COVID-19, setting another daily total record high since the start of the pandemic. The state now has a total of 80,109 confirmed cases.
Tweet: Sad day: ARIZONA has crossed the rubicon… its epidemic now exceeds Brazil and Peru to be one of the hardest hit regions in the world. Exceeding all European countries as well. Today: Record cases, record positivity %, record ER, record hospitalizations, record ICU.
A study finds as many as half of coronavirus patients with no symptoms may silently suffer ‘disturbing’ lung damage that leaves them oxygen-deprived without knowing it. Researchers found that as many as 45 percent of people infected with Covid-19 never have traditional signs such as coughing, fever or shortness of breath. More than half of asymptomatic patients in one study group had CT scans with signs of serious lung damage.
The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and its strike group of support ships finally arrived home after at least six months at sea. Some of the ships in the carrier group had been deployed since September. Because of Covid-19 concerns, the Navy kept the unexposed sailors at sea an extra two months.
Nevada pauses re-opening

In an interview, President Trump insisted that COVID-19 is going away despite the fact that over 20 states are seeing case numbers ramp up. Trump said he doesn’t “even like to talk about” vaccines for the virus “because it’s fading away.”
Florida reported 3,207 additional coronavirus cases on Thursday, the largest single-day count in the state since the pandemic started. Florida’s total reported cases climbed to nearly 86,000. The State has “all the markings of the next large epicenter of coronavirus transmission,” and risks being the “worst it has ever been,” according to projections from a model by scientists at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania.
Oklahoma cases of COVID-19 rise by 450, blowing past the record 259 daily cases reported the day prior, as the surge of infections continued ahead of a massive rally for President Donald Trump and demonstrations set for June 20 in Tulsa. There were two additional deaths, raising the total to 366. The figures were released not long after Oklahoma Republican Governor Kevin Stitt participated at a round-table at the White House and told Trump that Oklahoma was “one of the first states that has safely and measurably reopened.”
The Trump administration has shifted a federal stockpile of emergency medical supplies — a repository of crucial coronavirus-fighting gear — back under the control of federal health officials. The move is part symbol and part substance, restoring the government closer to its normal configuration after the pandemic’s first traumatic months.
The United States in facing a shortage of coins. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell explains “What’s happened is that, with the partial closure of the economy, the flow of coins through the economy has gotten all — it’s kind of stopped. The places where you go to give your coins, and get credit at the store and get cash — you know, folding money — those have not been working. Stores have been closed,” he said. “So the whole system has kind of, had come to a stop.”
Carnival Cruises announces it plans on disposing of six cruise ships over the next 90 days. They are being retired early due to ongoing losses from the pandemic-driven shutdown.

US Dept of Labor Report: The total number of people claiming initial jobless benefits for the week ending June 20 was 1.48 million, a decrease of 60 thousand from the previous week.
Tulsa, Oklahoma, is seeing its highest spike in coronavirus cases, with the number of new cases reached a high of 120, up from 35 at the beginning of the month. Yet President Trump is holding his first re-election rally in three months at a 19,000-person capacity indoor stadium there tonight, an event the CDCAcronymCDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the leading national public health institute of the United States. A federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services labels as the highest risk of any large in-person gathering “where it is difficult for individuals to remain spaced at least 6 feet apart and attendees travel from outside the local area.” Health experts are fearful that the gathering could turn into ground zero for a “Super-spreaderDefinitionThe term Super-spreader refers to a person who spreads a disease to a large number of people. Super-spreading events occur when a single person infects a large number of other people — sometimes 10, 20, sometimes even more in one setting. event”.
During President Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa Oklahoma, he claims to have ordered testing to slow down to reduce the number of reported cases of Covid-19.
During President Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa Oklahoma, he referrers to the coronavirus as “Kung Flu.”
A review by two HHSAcronymHHS - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. lawyers report the test kits for detecting the nation’s earliest cases of the novel coronavirus failed because of “likely” contamination at the CDCAcronymCDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the leading national public health institute of the United States. A federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services, whose scientists did not thoroughly check the kits despite “anomalies” during manufacturing. The review does not assign blame to any CDCAcronymCDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the leading national public health institute of the United States. A federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services scientist or official by name.
Existing home sales fell 9.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.91 million units in May, in all US regions, their lowest level in more than 9-1/2 years. The continued downturn in home sales in May was widely expected, given that the pending home sales report for April represented the largest decline since the National Association of Realtors began tracking data in 2001.

Tweet: REPORTER: Did you really ask to slow down coronavirus testing? TRUMP: “If it did slow down, frankly, I think we’re way ahead of ourselves, if you wanna know the truth. We’ve done too good of a job.”
President Trump Tweet: Cases are going up in the U.S. because we are testing far more than any other country, and ever expanding. With smaller testing we would show fewer cases!
The Trump administration will stop providing money and support for 13 sites across five states which were originally set up in the first months of the pandemic to speed up testing at the local level. Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are skyrocketing in many states.
Public health workers, already underfunded and understaffed, are confronting waves of protest at their homes and offices in addition to pressure from politicians who favor a faster reopening. More than 20 health officials have resigned, retired or been fired in recent weeks “due to conditions related to having to enforce and stand up for strong public health tactics during this pandemic.”
President Trump will sign an executive order extending a freeze on green cards and barring most categories of foreign workers through the end of the year. The new order also freezes H-1B visas for highly skilled workers and other temporary work visas. The Trump administration is arguing the immigration restrictions are necessary to protect American jobs during a period of historic unemployment, the result of the country’s lockdown this spring to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck SchumerSen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)Charles Ellis Schumer is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from New York, a seat to which he was first elected in 1998. A member of the Democratic Party, he has also served as the Senate minority leader since 2017. and Sen. Patty MurraySen. Patty Murray (D-WA)Patricia Lynn Murray is an American politician serving as the senior United States Senator from Washington, since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, Murray previously served in the Washington State Senate and is Washington's first female U.S. Senator. She is on the following committees: Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Defense. Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (Ranking Member), Committee on the Budget. accused the Trump administration of sitting on nearly $14 billion in funds for testing and contact tracing months after it was initially appropriated in April, part of the $25 billion designated to fund testing and contact tracing.
Most people who catch the new coronavirus don’t experience severe symptoms, and some have no symptoms at all. The lucky ones — if you can call them that — recover, but not in the sense that their lives are back to normal. For some, the damage is permanent. Their organs will never fully heal.
Cherie Antoinette Tweet: COVID 19 is the worst disease process I’ve ever worked with in my 8 years as an ICU nurse. When they say “recovered” they don’t tell you that that means you may need a lung transplant. Or that you may come back after d/c with a massive heart attack or stroke bc COVID makes…
…your blood thick as hell. Or that you may have to be on oxygen for the rest of your life. COVID is designed to kill. It is a highly intelligent virus and it attacks everything. We will run out of resources if we don’t continue to flatten the curve. I’m exhausted.
Almost every day since June 3, the state of Florida reported more than 1,000 new cases each day. The Florida Department of Health coronavirus dashboard reaches 100,217 confirmed cases in the state after 2,926 cases were added in the last 24 hours. It marks the fifth-highest one-day total since the state began tracking new cases.
Louisiana pauses further re-opening

Virginia’s 14-member health and safety board voted 9-3 to agree to create workplace safety rules that they would continue to work on and finalize in coming days. The governor’s office said the rules were prompted in large part by the lack of enforcement from the federal agency tasked with upholding workplace safety, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Disney is delaying the opening of its California-based theme parks. The company said its proposed phased opening of its two parks in Anaheim for July 17 would be postponed as state officials will not be issuing theme park reopening guidelines until after July 4. Disney has already reopened parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong and has plans to reopen its Paris and Japan-based locations.
Organizers for the Democratic Presidental convention upended the Democratic National Convention as they told state delegations not to travel to Milwaukee, moved the convention from Fiserv Forum to the nearby Wisconsin Center, and added satellite events around the country.
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut issue a travel advisory that requires people arriving from states with high coronavirus rates to quarantine for 14 days. The advisory applies to Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah and Texas. It begins tonight at midnight.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 710.16 points, or 2.7 percent, settling at 25,445.94 on the day after falling as low as 859. “Wishful thinking has given way to practical reality when it comes to COVID-19,” said Daniel P. Wiener, chairman of Adviser Investments. “Warm weather and a reduction in the rate of deaths does not give people the right to go out and party. They partied, the market partied and the hangover begins.”
Michigan pauses further re-opening
North Carolina pauses further re-opening. Mandates statewide requirement to wear face masks.

The White House Coronavirus Task Force Holds its first press briefing in two months.
Tweet: It really does sound like you’re saying, ‘Do as we say, not as we do.’ You’re telling people to listen to local officials, but in Tulsa you defied local health officials…How can you say that the campaign is not part of the problem?”
The number of new U.S. coronavirus cases reported in a single day hits a new highState-by-State Summary- 31 states are seeing an increase in new cases compared to the previous week: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
- 15 states are going steady: Hawaii, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington state
- Four states are seeing a decline: Connecticut, Delaware, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. of least 40,173 new cases, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The previous daily high was reported yesterday, June 25.
Tweet: Shows chart of increasing US daily cases.
The European Union is preparing to ban American travelers from entering the bloc when it reopens its borders to the outside world starting July 1, labeling the U.S. along with Russia, Qatar, and Brazil, for their failure to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The following states report their highest number of new daily cases: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee Texas, and Utah.
Dozens of sheriffs across the US are staging rebellions against state government requirements for face masks and social distancing. An adherence to their interpretation of Constitution, they say, comes before any kind of public health advice.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) rolls back the state’s phased economic reopening. He orders new restrictions on businesses, including a requirement that bars remain open only for delivery and take-out and requiring local officials to approve any gatherings of 100 people or more.
Tweet: Texas rolls back some reopening measures in effort to contain new coronavirus surge. Includes copy of the governor’s executive order.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) rolls back re-opening. Suspends on-premise alcohol consumption at bars statewide due to non-compliance with state guidelines.
New Florida coronavirus cases hit almost 9,000 in just one day.
Tweet: Showing chart of Florida’s daily new cases.
Arkansas pauses further re-opening.

Vice President Pence implores Americans to wear face masks, practice social distancing and stay away from senior citizens to protect them amid a new spike in coronavirus infections as the United States surpassed 2.5 million confirmed cases. President Trump has frequently ridiculed reporters and others who have worn face coverings during the pandemic.
In an email, senior HHSAcronymHHS - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Department advisor Paul Alexander accused the CDCAcronymCDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the leading national public health institute of the United States. A federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services of “undermining the President” by putting out a June 7 report about the potential risks of the coronavirus to pregnant women. Alexander criticized the agency’s methods and said its warning to pregnant women “reads in a way to frighten women . . . as if the President and his administration can’t fix this and it is getting worse.”
In March the FDA took the unprecedented step of allowing Covid-19 antibody tests to flood the market without review. The tests were billed as a critical tool to assess where the virus had spread and who might have immunity. Investigative reporting reveals that federal officials knew many of the antibody tests were seriously flawed but continued to allow them to be sold anyway.
California rolls back re-opening. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom orders seven counties including Los Angeles to immediately close any bars and nightspots that are open and recommends eight other counties take action on their own to close those businesses.

Video of Dr. Anthony FauciDr. Anthony FauciAnthony Stephen Fauci is an American physician and immunologist who has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984 testifying at Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing titled “COVID-19: Update on Progress Toward Safely Getting Back to Work and Back to School.”
Dr. Anthony FauciDr. Anthony FauciAnthony Stephen Fauci is an American physician and immunologist who has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984 testimony: “We are now having 40-plus thousand new cases a day. I would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around and so I am very concerned.”
Interview: Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (Republican) stated, “I don’t need his advice anymore,” discussing Dr. Anthony FauciDr. Anthony FauciAnthony Stephen Fauci is an American physician and immunologist who has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984‘s testimony to Congress. “Fauci said today that he’s concerned about states like Texas that skipped over certain things. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. We haven’t skipped over anything. The only thing I’m skipping over is listening to him.” Today’s count of cases in Texas shows 6,975 new cases reported.
The governors of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut will require 14-day self-quarantines for travelers from another eight states, bringing the total to sixteen statesSixteen States with Quarantines- New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut previously mandated quarantines for travelers from Alabama, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Utah, Arkansas, North Carolina and South Carolina.
- The new states on the list are California, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada and Tennessee. where the coronavirus is spreading rapidly.
The US has bought up virtually all the stocks for the next three months of one of the two drugs proven to work against Covid-19, leaving none for the UK, Europe or most of the rest of the world. Remdesivir, the first drug approved by licensing authorities in the US to treat Covid-19, is made by Gilead and has been shown to help people recover faster from the disease. The Trump administration has now bought all of Gilead’s production for July and 90% of August and September.
Puerto Rico’s governor announces effective July 15, all passengers have to wear a mask and must take a molecular test 72 hours prior to their arrival and submit the results to officials at the airport. Those who refuse to do so, or tested positive, or do not have the test results available, will be forced into a two-week quarantine. During that time, they have to undergo a molecular test and share the results if they want to be released from quarantine.
Stocks rise as Wall Street wrapped up its best quarterly performance in decades. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 100 points higher, or 0.4%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.8% and 1.1%, respectively.
Hours before the SBAAcronymSBA - The Small Business Administration is a United States government agency that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses.‘s Paycheck Protection Program was set to expire, the Senate passed an extension to August 8. The program was set to expire with more than $130 billion in allocated funds unused. To date, more than 4.8 million small business owners have utilized the program, designed for companies to maintain their payrolls through the pandemic.