The COVID-19 History Project

This really happened.

This Day in COVID: August 1, 2020

When a COVID-19 vaccine arrives, which Canadians will get it first?

When the first COVID-19 vaccines become available, there won’t be enough for everyone who wants it. Within Canada, who should get it first and how will that be decided? Here’s a closer look.

CBC

Dutch Officials’ Continued Reluctance To Embrace Masks To Prevent Spread Of Coronavirus

Dutch public health officials are unbending with respect to what they consider to be lack of scientific evidence on the efficacy of non-medical masks in limiting the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Forbes

Philippines confirms nearly 5,000 new coronavirus cases, largest single-day increase

Reuters

Congress deeply unpopular again as gridlock on coronavirus relief has real-life consequences

Washington Post

Vietnam reports four new COVID-19 cases; two are imported

Reuters

Thousands protest against coronavirus measures in Berlin

Demonstrators ignore hygiene rules to rally in German capital.

Politico

Trump's defiant campaign amid pandemic ramps up ground game, as Biden looks for another way

President Trump’s reelection team is plowing forward campaigning across the country despite rising coronavirus cases.

ABC

Coronavirus pandemic causes another health concern — closed public restrooms

Washington Post

Women of color hardest hit by pandemic joblessness

“I never imagined that at 22 years old I’d be laid off, applying for unemployment...Where do I go from here?”

NBC

LeVar Burton Is Still Reading To Us During The Pandemic

It's a tough time for Black Americans. How is Levar Burton protecting his heart? 'I try to remind myself and others to keep our heads up. Unless our head is up. We cannot see the horizon. And it's the horizon that beckons us.'Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Find us on Twitter @1A.

NPR

Covid-19 isn’t going away — 6 ways to stay calmer and happier long-term

It can seem like there is no end to the pandemic in sight. Here's how psychologists say you can stay focused on the present when Covid-19 has disrupted your life.

CNBC

‘Nobody likes me,’ Trump complains, as even his allies fade

CNN

Coronavirus: The bogus meme targeting Dr Fauci, and other fake claims

A round-up of false and misleading claims circulating on American social media this week.

BBC

Tucker Carlson calls Fauci a ‘fraud’ after tense hearing

The Hill

Trump says Fauci is 'wrong' about coronavirus cases surge

Axios

Bill Gates slammed the US coronavirus testing system, calling it 'absolutely useless' because results take so long

Bill Gates says that testing is the worst part of the US coronavirus response, and the first thing he'd fix if he were in charge.

Business Insider

Bill Gates explains how he would fight coronavirus if he was in charge: 'Don't mislead people'

Yahoo

U.S. doctor in viral video touting hydroxychloroquine as virus cure doubles down on claims

Premium Times Nigeria

Fact check: Cleveland Clinic never told employees cloth face masks 'don't work'

USA Today

Mask rage: ‘One man told me I shouldn't be allowed out if I can't wear one’

With face coverings compulsory in many settings, people unable to comply for health reasons are being challenged and abused

The Guardian

COVID-19's mask and distancing demands aren't new to me. But now everyone else is doing it too.

It used to be that face masks and forced social distance marked me as 'cancer girl.' It turns out that time prepared me to get through this one.

NBC

Frustration and misunderstanding: For deaf folks, masking can cause communication barriers

Widespread mask usage curbs the transmission of coronavirus. But it can also hide faces, muffle sound, and derail communication for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

WHYY

Lawsuits fighting mask mandates, business closures from COVID-19 from around the South

The Tennessean

Wisconsin Republicans 'stand ready' to kill governor's mask requirement

Wisconsin Senate Republicans “stand ready” to strike down the statewide mask mandate that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers announced on Thursday, the GOP Senate leader said Friday.

MPR News

Existing evidence suggests face masks don't lead to false sense of security

Business Standard

Mask dispute leaves Staples customer with broken leg after woman throws her to ground

Margot Kagan, who recently had a liver transplant and was walking with a cane, was thrown to the ground by another customer she had told to wear a mask.

NBC

Group rallies against Minnesota mask mandate at State Capitol

While many people are masking up others believe it's not necessary and impedes on their rights.

Kare11

I'm sorry, but it's a fantasy'

Washington Post

A School Reopens, and the Coronavirus Creeps In

New York Times

Betsy DeVos Pushes Schools to Clear COVID Hurdles Without Special Favors

The education secretary's main message to educators lately has been: Meet your obligations and don't assume the feds will remove major mandates.

Education Week

Coronavirus: Pubs 'may need to shut' to allow schools to reopen

A 'trade-off' may be needed in England amid a rise in cases, a scientist advising the government says.

BBC

In California’s ‘Bible Belt,’ churches find ways around state’s coronavirus lockdown orders

LA Times

People have to pay their bills and eat': Post Malone slams coronavirus lockdown and attacks government mask mandate

Rapper Post Malone said he opposes strict lockdown measures and he doesn't think the government should be forcing people to wear masks to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Daily Mail

Coronavirus: 'Lockdown completely unprepared me to be a mum'

Carla Fitzgerald says Covid-19 prevented her having a support network of new mums and antenatal help.

BBC

As lockdown boredom bites, board game designer finds his turn to shine

Australian Phil Walker-Harding is on a bit of a roll with his board games in a million or more homes around the world. How does he do it?

The Age

As Maryland public schools go online this fall, private and parochial schools are ready to welcome students on campus

As Maryland’s public schools announced their decisions to keep their doors closed at least for the beginning of the school year, private schools have done just the reverse — arguing the…

Baltimore Sun

Boston doctor named ‘hospital hero’ relied on human connection to get through COVID peak

Emergency medicine physician Dr. Vonzella Bryant said connecting with her patients is the best part of the job, pushing her to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and earn a spot on a nationwide U.S. N…

Boston Herald

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: August 1, 2021

Details

COVID-19 and Your Weight

Being overweight increases your risk for complications from COVID

Lehigh Valley Health Network

Fauci warns 'things are going to get worse' with COVID

Dr. Anthony Fauci and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared on ABC's "This Week" Sunday.

ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos

The coronavirus variant discovered in India has a new name: Delta. (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Human Condition: Pandemic paralysis is keeping me close to home

The Advocate

The Anti-vaccine Con Job Is Becoming Untenable

Why targets of deliberate deception often hesitate to admit they’ve been deceived

The Atlantic

Covid caution dampens the heady promises of ‘freedom day’

Customers remain hesitant as lockdown habits and the prospect of crowded venues put people off going out

The Guardian

Welfare rolls decline during the pandemic despite economic upheaval

The Washington Post

Mayor Bowser denies breaking newly reimposed mask mandate

The Washington Post

Florida breaks record for new coronavirus cases as surge of infections rips through state

The Washington Post

Perceptions of Health workers regarding health facility infection prevention and control procedures for COVID-19: A Research Template

This protocol was developed for the World Health Organisation COVID-19 Research Roadmap as a joint initiative between the social science and infection prevention and control working groups.

World Health Organization (WHO)

Concerned parents ask lawmakers and governor to repeal ban on mask mandates

More than a dozen parents and community members showed up to the Governor’s mansion Saturday to protest Act 1002. The act was passed in April 2021 and bans public mask mandates. When it was signed into law, COVID cases in Arkansas were much lower and the state had yet to see the delta variant. Now Arkansas is seeing between one to two thousand new cases a day with the school year just weeks away.

KATV

Fauci Says Shots Work Despite Cases Among Fully Vaccinated

Bloomberg

Doctors, scientists who warned officials about oncoming pandemic focus of Michael Lewis book

In his book, "The Premonition," Michael Lewis profiles people who tried to sound the alarm about COVID-19 as officials failed to act.

CBS News

Europe adopts carrot-and-stick approach towards vaccine refuseniks

Governments nudge citizens to get jab as pace of Covid inoculations slows

Financial Times

Judge Cassandra Kirk kickstarts courthouse Covid vaccine persuasion campaign

Fulton County Government (.gov)

‘X’ Marks the Spot: Officials Map a Route Out of the Pandemic (Published 2021)

The New York Times

To Fight Vaccine Lies, Authorities Recruit an ‘Influencer Army’ (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Anger over Tunisia's pandemic failures fuels political crisis

Reuters

Global chip shortage, COVID-19 pandemic weigh on French car market rebound

Reuters

Republican report says coronavirus leaked from China lab, scientists still probing origins

Reuters

Factory Mix-Up Ruins Up to 15 Million Vaccine Doses From Johnson & Johnson (Published 2021)

The New York Times

Anthony Fauci Warns on Covid-19 That ‘Things Are Going to Get Worse’

WSJ