CTRL-F NOT FOUND: “PROTEST.” Coronavirus updates: Fauci says new cases could hit 100,000 daily.

At least it’s mentioned here: California’s slide from coronavirus success to danger zone began Memorial Day. “The beckon of summer rituals followed — day trips to the beach, Memorial Day barbecues, graduation celebrations, Father’s Day gatherings. Around the same time, historic protests began, triggered by outrage over the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd while in police custody, which sparked unprecedented demonstrations across the nation, including in the streets of California.”

The thing about the protests is, it’s not just that they exposed people directly — they also sent the message that the powers that be didn’t really care, since they endorsed mass public gathering of the sort they’d previously discouraged. That caused a lot of people to give up in general, but hey, it’s not like the public health community has the self-discipline or commitment to skip an opportunity for politically correct virtue signaling.