November 14, 2020

Thanksgiving Is Less Than 2 Weeks Away, and the Entire Continental US Is Trending Poorly on COVID-19

If there’s one map you show your relatives before Thanksgiving, make it this one.

Ahead of Thanksgiving, public health officials have expressed concern that the holiday will contribute to a surge in new coronavirus cases. Now, with Thanksgiving still about two weeks away, the country is already seeing those fears actualize.

According to the nonpartisan data tracking project COVID Exit Strategy, every state in the contiguous United States is either “trending poorly” or has an “uncontrolled spread” of coronavirus cases. And with a lack of leadership on COVID at the national level, the rest of the year isn’t looking so good either. Here’s the most recent map:

COVID Exit Strategy

This is a notable downtrend. Just earlier this week, Vermont was “trending better”:

COVID case trend on November 10, 2020

Wayback Machine

Here’s what the map looked like two months ago:

COVID case trend on September 14, 2020

Wayback Machine

And in August:

COVID case trend on August 14, 2020

Wayback Machine

Public health officials recommend staying home for Thanksgiving. But if you must travel or see family members, please wear a mask.

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DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again—any amount today.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

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