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This Day in COVID: June 23, 2020

Details

U.S. CDC reports 2,302,288 coronavirus cases

Reuters

Bulgarian PM to be fined for not wearing face mask in church

Reuters

INSIGHT: Sorting Out Defamation and Covid-19 Transmission Accusations

As businesses reopen, what happens if an employee says another employee gave them Covid-19? Or a customer posts online that a store is failing to adequately clean? Ethan Krasnoo, counsel at Reavis Page Jump LLP, examines the intricacies of defamation law, such as the difficulty of establishing damages, and various situations that could give rise to a successful claim.

Bloomberg

Experts identify steps to expand and improve antibody tests in COVID-19 response

NIH workshop attendees review capabilities, limits of SARS-CoV-2 serology testing.

NIH

We Still Don't Fully Understand The Label 'Asymptomatic'

A new study reveals that even patients who are reportedly asymptomatic — no fever, cough, fatigue or breathing issues — could sustain temporary lung damage from the novel coronavirus.

NPR

how-superspreading-events-drive-most-covid-19-spread1/

Scientific American

Reopening America: Low-wage workers have suffered badly from COVID-19 so policymakers should focus on equity

The rising death toll of essential workers such as nurses, bus drivers, and grocery workers is a grave reminder of what is at stake in decisions of when to lift stay-at-home orders and reopen local economies.

Brookings

South Korea sues religious sect over COVID spread as it grapples with 2nd wave

City of Daegu wants $82 million from cult-like church at center of initial outbreak, as Seoul contemplates measures to tackle a resurgence.

CBS

UN chief criticizes lack of global cooperation on COVID-19

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations chief criticized the total lack of international coordination in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday and warned that the go-it-alone policy of many countries will not defeat the coronavirus.

IOC joins forces with WHO and the United Nations to fight COVID-19

The International Olympic Committee and WHO together with the United Nations launch a partnership to encourage individuals and communities around the world to be #HEALTHYTogether. The three partners and Olympic athletes will spotlight the global collaboration needed to stay healthy and reduce the spread and impact of COVID-19.

WHO

Can people spread the coronavirus if they don’t have symptoms? 5 questions answered about asymptomatic COVID-19

There is a lot of confusion and concern around asymptomatic spread of SARS-C0V-2. An infectious disease expert explains how many people are asymptomatic and how they can spread the virus.

The Conversation

Institutional racism contributes to Covid-19’s ‘double whammy’ impact on the Black community, Fauci says

CNN

Factbox: Djokovic slammed after testing positive for COVID-19

Reuters

Scientists Declare an Unprecedented 'Anthropause' Due to The Pandemic

The current pandemic isn't just affecting humans, it's also impacting wildlife.

Science Alert

Tilman Fertitta on rising virus cases: ‘Our only chance of staying open is the mask’

'If we don't wear masks, we're going to have to shut down again,' the Landry's CEO told CNBC. 'Then we're going to really have an economic problem besides a lot of unhealthy, very sick people out there.'

CNBC

Trump blames rise in coronavirus cases on increased testing, despite evidence of more spread

'Even with the testing increasing or being flat, the number of people testing positive is accelerating faster than that,' Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said last week.

CNBC

Not a care in the world': In hard-hit states, younger adults increasingly bear brunt of COVID-19 cases

Doctors in states such as Florida and Texas are reporting higher numbers of COVID-19 patients in their 20s, 30s and 40s.

NBC

Fauci says White House told NIH to cancel funding for bat virus study

“Why was it canceled? It was canceled because the NIH was told to cancel it,' Fauci said.

Politico

None Of Us Have Ever Been Told To Slow Down On Testing,' Fauci Testifies To House

House Democrats press the leaders of federal agencies for details on whether President Trump has stymied health experts from taking more effective action to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

NPR

3 questions to watch for as Fauci, Redfield testify before House panel

Fauci, Redfield and other health experts to testify on coronavirus testing, treatments before House panel as Trump heads to rally supporters at megachurch.

ABC

Human challenge trials with live coronavirus aren’t the answer to a Covid-19 vaccine

Trying to accelerate the development of a Covid-19 vaccine should not mean forsaking ethical concerns, putting well-intentioned volunteers at needless risk, or setting back global vaccine efforts.

Statnews

The Economics Of Vaccine Pricing

Governments and drug companies agree: We need to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. But their motives for developing a vaccine are different. And that will have a big effect on the vaccine's price.

NPR

Woman Shamed For Wearing a Mask to a Job Interview Unites Reddit

Newsweek

America’s mask resistance is just the latest example of a perennial struggle

CNN

Face masks work. They need to be mandatory.

USA Today

Oregon county issues face mask order that exempts nonwhite people

Lincoln County, Oregon, has exempted nonwhite people from a new order requiring that face coverings be worn in public — to prevent racial profiling. Health officials announced last week resid…

NY Post

Gov. Inslee orders masks to be worn in public to help stem spread of coronavirus

Seattle Times

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: June 23, 2021

Details

Pandemic’s Third Wave Hits Africa

Foreign Policy

How gay neighborhoods used the traumas of HIV to help American cities fight coronavirus

The Conversation

Florida hackers change highway sign to read ‘Arrest Fauci’

The Hill

Covid: The man who tested positive for Covid 43 times

Dave Smith, 72, from Bristol, was sent to hospital seven times over the last 10 months.

BBC

Millions become millionaires during Covid pandemic

Soaring stock markets and property prices help boost the wealth of the wealthy, research suggests.

BBC

WHO says delta is the fastest and fittest Covid variant and will 'pick off' most vulnerable

Delta has the potential 'to be more lethal because it's more efficient in the way it transmits between humans,' the WHO's Dr. Mike Ryan said.

CNBC

Scientist says early coronavirus samples were deleted from NIH database | CNN

CNN

Assessing inequality, irregularity, and severity regarding road traffic safety during COVID-19 - Scientific Reports

Nature

Acute and persistent symptoms in non-hospitalized PCR-confirmed COVID-19 patients - Scientific Reports

Nature

U.S. life expectancy decreased by an 'alarming' amount during pandemic

Health in the U.S. has been lagging behind comparable countries for decades.

NBC News

NIH begins study of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy and postpartum

Researchers will evaluate antibody responses in vaccinated participants and their infants.

National Institutes of Health NIH .gov

‘Natural Immunity’ From Covid Is Not Safer Than a Vaccine Published 2020

The New York Times

The Coronavirus Is a Master of Mixing Its Genome, Worrying Scientists Published 2021

The New York Times

People Who Have Had Covid Should Get Single Vaccine Dose, Studies Suggest Published 2021

The New York Times

A New Coronavirus Variant Is Spreading in New York, Researchers Report Published 2021

The New York Times

‘A Momentous Day’: New York and California Lift Most Virus Restrictions Published 2021

The New York Times

People in Advanced Economies Say Their Society Is More Divided Than Before Pandemic

Publics disagree about whether restrictions on public activity, such as stay-at-home orders or mandates to wear masks in public, have gone far enough to combat COVID-19.

Pew Research Center

Brazil sets single-day record for coronavirus cases

Reuters

Seattle scientist digs up deleted coronavirus genetic data, adding fuel to COVID origin debate

The Seattle Times

Invasive mould disease in fatal COVID-19: a systematic review of autopsies

The Lancet

Colleges want students to get a coronavirus vaccine. But they’re split on requiring the shots.

The Washington Post

Congress is investigating whether the 2019 Military World Games in Wuhan was a covid-19 superspreader event

Washington Post

Nearly 900 Secret Service members were infected with the coronavirus. A watchdog blames Trump.

Washington Post

Mask off: is England ready to ditch face coverings post-Covid?

People have mixed feelings regarding reports that mask-wearing and social distancing could be dropped on 19 July

The Guardian