I'll switch up a little as of today, and start using the 7-day rolling averages, and skip the percent increase.
New Cases: 621,871
New Deaths: 9,464
USA
New Cases: 110,812
New Deaths: 514
USA Vaccination Scorecard
Total Vaccinations: 198.1 million (59.7%)
Fully Vaccinated: 168.4 million (50.7%)
And "the news" about the pandemic has been reduced to updates on human interest stories, and the unbelievably stoopid fight over vaccinations and masks.
WaPo:
The pandemic is showing us which friendships are worth keeping
Before the pandemic, Sherilyn Carlton’s family was so accustomed to her friends popping by the house that her youngest child used to ask: “Mommy, who’s coming over today?”
So Carlton, a 47-year-old corporate coach in Battle Ground, Wash., is the kind of person you might expect to have a tough time with social distancing. In the Before Times, Carlton would flit from a run with a friend to lunch or coffee with another pal; ferry her kids to and from basketball practice; and in the evening might host a writing group at her home.
In some ways, keeping a tighter circle during the pandemic has been difficult, she admits. But she went into the lockdown in March feeling socially hung over — and overall her quieter life has felt restorative. “I detoxed from all the social connecting I was doing,” Carlton said recently. “I’ve gotten to crave that time to myself, and I’m so much more aware of when I need it.”
Beyond her immediate family, Carlton sees two friends regularly — for outdoor exercise and coffee dates — and for the most part, that’s enough. “There’s a group of families that used to get together regularly. … I miss that,” she says. “But not much else.”
Carlton feels blessed to have an abundance of friends. Now that life has started to speed up again, she wants to continue focusing mostly on her besties rather than stretching to see everyone in her circle. Her pod just might outlive the pandemic.
Carlton is not the only one finding solace in a pared-down social life. Just as working from home has revealed that commuting to an office five days a week isn’t necessary for every worker, some who once tried to maintain dozens of friendships are realizing they’re more fulfilled while keeping up with just their nearest and dearest. After over a year of living through an extended state of emergency, it’s clear who’s in your ride-or-die crew, who you can call if you need a walk, a talk or some help. For many, those inner circles are tighter than ever.
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‘I feel defeated’: Mask and vaccine mandates cause new divides as officials try to head off virus surge
Cities and counties say protections are necessary as coronavirus cases explode again
At hospitals, mandatory deadlines for staffers to get coronavirus shots are arriving. At big corporations such as United Airlines and Google, workers are being told to roll up their sleeves. Even unions that once balked at vaccine mandates are signaling support.
And it’s not just shots: In dozens of cities and counties, indoor mask mandates are back, with city leaders and public health officials arguing the requirements are necessary to save lives and preserve the economic recovery. In some corners of the nation, the government mandates extend to vaccination.
“This is to protect kids [and] protect those who can’t get vaccinated,” San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed said Thursday as she announced the city would require a variety of businesses to demand proof of vaccination — a move that came 10 days after reinstating an indoor mask mandate. “To make sure that I never have to get up in front of you and say, ‘I’m sorry, I know we just reopened and now the city is closed again because we are seeing too many people die.’”
The summer of 2021 is a season of mandates, with rules requiring masks and vaccines reemerging as the pandemic’s latest cultural and political flash point. In many parts of the country — including states hit hardest by a resurgence of the virus — the mandates are pitting blue cities against red governors, sparking protests and placing new burdens on already harried workers.
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