COVID-19 pandemic in Donald Trump’s USA

This 14 July 2020 video says about itself:

Trump pushing for schools to reopen, experts warn against it

In spite of a spike in cases in several states, the Trump administration is continuing to push for schools to reopen. Some states and school systems have refused.

The US accounts for more than a quarter of the world’s coronavirus cases, with more than 3.3 million recorded infections.

Top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci has ascribed the surge in US coronavirus cases to the country’s failure to shut down completely, then a rush to reopen too soon, and urged a commitment to guidelines to snuff out the disease.

Al Jazeera’s Patty Culhane reports from the US state of Maryland.

CALIFORNIA SHUTS DOWN AGAIN California’s governor clamped new restrictions on businesses, and the state’s two largest school districts, Los Angeles and San Diego, said children would not return to class for the new term as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations soared. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, ordered bars closed and restaurants, movie theaters, zoos and museums statewide to cease indoor operations. Newsom said churches, gyms and hair salons must close in the 30 hardest-hit counties. [Reuters]

LEAVING THE PANDEMIC RESPONSE TO STATES DOOMED THE COUNTRY TO FAIL TOGETHER Unlike many developed countries, the United States remains in a coronavirus crisis, getting worse by the week in nearly 40 U.S. states. On Sunday, Florida broke the U.S. record for most coronavirus cases in a day with 15,300 new cases ― that’s more cases than were detected in all of Europe the same day. In Arizona, confirmed and possible COVID-19 patients were using a record number of intensive care unit beds and ventilators on Sunday. A day later, California announced it would roll back reopenings, as cases in the state continue to surge. [HuffPost]

MEDICAL SCHOOLS VOICE SUPPORT FOR FAUCI AMID WHITE HOUSE ATTACKS The Association of American Medical Colleges released a statement in support of Dr. Anthony Fauci, who the White House has attempted to smear for his dire warnings about soaring coronavirus infections. “The AAMC is extremely concerned and alarmed by efforts to discredit Anthony Fauci, MD, our nation’s top infectious disease expert,” the letter said. “Dr. Fauci has been an independent and outspoken voice for truth as the nation has struggled to fight the coronavirus pandemic.” Fauci returned to the White House to meet with the chief of staff on Monday, a day after the White House press office released an unattributed statement attempting to discredit him. [HuffPost]

CANADIANS SAY ‘KEEP IT’ TO U.S. CALLS TO REOPEN BORDER A bipartisan group of United States politicians is pushing for the U.S.-Canada border to reopen. But Canadians are having none of it, and they aren’t sorry they feel this way. In a letter this week shared by New York Rep. Brian Higgins, 27 members of Congress called on the U.S. and Canadian governments to begin a phased full reopening of the border when the current agreement expires on July 21. Restrictions on the border were first introduced in March, and have renewed them three times over the course of the coronavirus pandemic. [HuffPost]

GOP SENATOR: BACK TRUMP BECAUSE LIFE WAS GOOD BEFORE COVID-19 GOP incumbent Sen. Thom Tillis (Republican-North Carolina.), facing what polls show is a tough reelection race this fall, argued that voters should judge his party based on the economy’s performance before the spread of the disease ― and not President Donald Trump’s bungled handling of a public health crisis that has resulted in the deaths of more than 130,000 people and left about 30 million unemployed Americans. Most GOP leaders ― including Tillis ― have been unwilling to publicly hold Trump accountable for the failed response. [HuffPost]

COURT SHOOTS DOWN GOP DEMAND THAT HOUSTON HOST ITS IN-PERSON CONVENTION In a major win for coronavirus-battered Houston, the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court ruled 7-1 Monday that the state’s GOP can’t force the city to host the party’s in-person convention this week. The city, grappling with a record number of COVID-19 cases, last week canceled the convention that was scheduled to begin Thursday at the George R. Brown Convention Center. It was expected to draw about 6,000 Republicans. “These are very serious times,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner (D) said. “Simply, the public health concerns outweighed anything else.” [HuffPost]

Pediatricians: Science, not politics, should decide school reopenings.

For teachers who are parents, schools reopening in the fall is bad news.

The people who say they’re not boarding an airplane until there’s a Covid-19 vaccine: here.