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When demonstrators took to the streets to protest the death of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, the cause was just but the worry was real: Were the marches going to lead to massive new outbreaks of coronavirus just as most of the nation had flattened the curve? At the same time, newly reopened bars, restaurants and stores drew customers — sometimes masked, often not — while crowds returned to beaches. Released from sheltering in place, people held gatherings at their homes, trusting that the folks they invited would be careful not to expose everyone around them to danger. Now, cases are surging in Texas, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, West Virginia, Tennessee and Montana; average case counts hit new highs Sunday in a dozen states, California included. For 27 straight days, the count for the country as a whole has climbed relentlessly higher. (7/7)

Some early assumptions about Covid-19 no longer add up—and that could be good news for the future progress of the virus. There are reasons to think the novel coronavirus began spreading earlier than previously understood, raising the possibility that herd immunity is closer than we think. Chinese authorities say they first identified a case in Wuhan in November, but Beijing didn’t lock down Hubei province until Jan. 23. For two months direct flights ran from Wuhan to 30 cities outside China, including London, New York, Paris, Rome and San Francisco. Scientists have found traces of the virus in wastewater samples collected in Italy as early as mid-December and in Brazil beginning in late November. (Allysia Finley, 7/6)

Choosing between staying home and going back to work at a low-wage job, Americans are making the correct decision should they decide to sit out of the labor market until conditions improve. With almost 47 percent of wage earners making less than $30,000 a year and at least 17 percent of two-child families earning less than $30,000 a year, Americans choosing to wait for better times to rejoin the workforce are not lazy or devious, but merely acting rationally. (Amy K. Glasmeier, Thom Goff, and Zack Avre, 7/6)

When did America start losing its war against the coronavirus? How did we find ourselves international pariahs, not even allowed to travel to Europe? I’d suggest that the turning point was way back on April 17, the day that Donald Trump tweeted “LIBERATE MINNESOTA,” followed by “LIBERATE MICHIGAN” and “LIBERATE VIRGINIA.” In so doing, he effectively declared White House support for protesters demanding an end to the lockdowns governors had instituted to bring Covid-19 under control. (Paul Krugman, 7/6)

The United States is entering dangerous, uncharted territory. With a little more than 4 percent of the world’s population, our country has about 25 percent of coronavirus infections. Over the course of five months, more Americans have lost their lives to this disease (127,000 and counting) than died in World War I (116,516). New infections have reaccelerated and are rising toward some unknown peak. And we have a president who doesn’t appear to give a damn. (Michael Gerson, 7/6)

A reality-star president knows how to program -- and also how to counterprogram. With COVID-19's spread unchecked, and with now more than 130,000 fatalities in the United States, President Donald Trump is focused on his political base -- or, at least, an interpretation of it. He is focusing on preserving "heritage" and protecting monuments, attacking sports franchises and Democrats, while his White House suggests that the U.S. response to the virus is the envy of the world. This does not reflect reality as lived by most Americans at the moment. That, though, may be be the point. (Rick Klein and MaryAlice Parks, 7/7)