Yesterday I received a postcard in the mail. I first mistook it for a presidential campaign postcard mailer. Boldly printed on the front of the card was "President Donald Trump's..." in bright red letters. On the reverse side was printed the Coronavirus guidelines that President Trump and the White House Corona Virus Taskforce had issued ten days before. The card was not very large and the print on the reverse side was difficult to read. It contained nothing new. I have been posting articles on the Coronavirus pandemic since February. These articles had included the recommended steps and more. I have not received anything else from the federal government in the mail.
Today I ventured out of self-isolation to buy needed supplies. Before spring break my university had urged students to stay at home and avoid unnecessary travel and unnecessary contact with other people. I had hoped to go early to one store that was close to my home at a time when the store would normally have few customers. I checked the store's hours on the internet and encountered conflicting information. One site said that the store would be open at 7:00 AM; another said it would be open at 8:00 AM. I did not know which site to believe. When I arrived at the store, I discovered that the store was opening at the earlier hour and designating the first hour after it opened as a time for shoppers who were elderly or otherwise vulnerable. I heard one of the store clerks tell a customer that some customers were observing the recommended guidelines while others were ignoring them. From what I gathered, the community had become divided into two groups of people, those who like the university and the mayor take the coronavirus pandemic seriously and those who believed the reports of the seriousness of the virus are a hoax.
Both the post card and the reaction of the latter segment of the population show how the US response to the Coronavirus pandemic has become entangled in US politics. I received the card after President Trump announced that he was planning to relax the Coronavirus guidelines.
Below I have posted links to a number of articles that report on the spread of the Coronavirus in the the United States, the factors which are complicating the response to the virus, and the reaction of different segments of the US population to its spread.
Links
Prepare For Outbreaks Like New York's In Other States, Warns Anthony Fauci
Surgeon General says some states will still be battling coronavirus by LABOR DAY and that it'll travel through the country in yet another rejection of Trump's 'Easter' deadline
Coronavirus: US overtakes China with most cases
Trump allies fear a premature victory lap against coronavirus
What Governors Are Saying about Reopening Their States after Trump's Call to Restart Economy by Easter
Coronavirus modelers factor in new public health risk: Accusations their work is a hoax
Coronavirus: One case lays bare America's testing failure
FACT CHECK: Testing Not Meeting Demand Despite Trump's Boasts
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