Just like you would expect, the media who cheered on massive protests and riots across the country for George Floyd and Black Lives Matter these past two weeks, is now blaming a spike in coronavirus cases on businesses reopening with social distancing measures. On ABC’s Good Morning America Tuesday, correspondent Matt Gutman insisted a rise in some states' COVID cases was because these states had begun “reopening."
After spending much of the morning praising the protests, congressional correspondent Mary Bruce was outraged by President Trump announcing he would be holding rallies again soon, because of the pandemic:
And now the president is planning to get back out on the trail. His campaign says they're looking to resume those big rallies in the next two weeks despite concerns about the pandemic. We know the president thrives on these massive crowds and he is eager to get back out and tout what he says is an economic comeback.
The network continued their lockdown hypocrisy in their coronavirus report. Anchor George Stephanopoulos touted statistics from the controversial World Health Organization saying that Sunday marked the highest reported cases worldwide. He added that a new study found the shutdown prevented “60 million cases” in the U.S., without giving more information.
Correspondent Matt Gutman, reporting from Phoenix, Arizona, said reopening the economy was to blame for a spike in cases in Arizona and 13 other states:
“And the cases are spiking because of a near complete re-opening,” he declared. Gutman did cite “two major health systems in the state” worrying that “re-opening, protests, and a lack of social distancing” would create a fatal health system emergency. But while speaking with worried doctors and nurses, Gutman repeatedly hyped how reopening the economy was to blame:
This morning, with hard hit cities like New York, finally starting to ease restrictions, 20 other states and Puerto Rico are now reporting increases of COVID cases and 14 of those states have seen their highest seven-day average of new cases just since June 1st. In Arizona, COVID cases spiking by 34% over the past week. In both hospitalizations and the death toll, are soaring
….And as restrictions ease nearly half of the state's 27,000 cases affecting people between the ages of 20 to 44 years old.
...So scary. Now, the head of COVID response for one major hospital system here told me that before the re-opening they predicted 600 total deaths in Arizona. Now since the re-opening they're predicting 4500 deaths.
Besides that one mention quoting a health official at the top of the report, protests and riots were conspicuously absent from the entire ABC report.
Gutman didn’t mention that Phoenix alone has had 12 straight days of protests with thousands of people gathered tightly together. It’s not as if Arizona is the only state that's had massive protests for nearly two weeks now. They’ve been happening in every state in our country and across the world. But that couldn’t have anything to do with the rise of COVID...right?
Immediately following this report, GMA brought on Dr. Jennifer Ashton to talk about states needing to be aware of the “danger” they still face even after they “flattened the curve.”
Ashton also cited a study from The Lancet, saying that eye coverings were more protective from COVID-19 than even face masks. ABC did not mention that this is the same medical journal which had to retract their flawed Hydroxychloroquine study, which the media had promoted endlessly.
Read a partial transcript, below:
ABC
Good Morning America
6/9/2020
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: We turn to the latest on the coronavirus emergency. The World Health Organization is reporting more worldwide cases Sunday than any day since the pandemic began as the virus accelerates its spread in the developing world. A new study here in the US concludes shutdown orders prevented 60 million infections and Matt Gutman is in Phoenix, Arizona, where cases are spiking. Good morning, Matt.
MATT GUTMAN: Hey, good morning George. And the cases are spiking because of a near complete re-opening. Now, the two major health systems in this state are telling us that those re-openings, the protests and a lack of social distancing are creating a combination so fatal that the state's health system is now telling them to activate their emergency plans and it's not just here, 14 states are now seeing a surge in COVID cases.
This morning, with hard hit cities like New York, finally starting to ease restrictions, 20 other states and Puerto Rico are now reporting increases of COVID cases and 14 of those states have seen their highest seven-day average of new cases just since June 1st. In Arizona, COVID cases spiking by 34% over the past week. In both hospitalizations and the death toll, are soaring.
[soundbites of doctors, nurses worried about hospitals being overwhelmed]
….GUTMAN: And as restrictions ease nearly half of the state's 27,000 cases affecting people between the ages of 20 to 44 years old.
[25-year-old man talks about high fever, being hospitalized after being tested positive for COVID-19]
GUTMAN: In California more than 130,000 people testing positive for the virus including "Days of our lives" star Judy Evans.
[tells her story]
…
GUTMAN: So scary. Now, the head of COVID response for one major hospital system here told me that before the re-opening they predicted 600 total deaths in Arizona. Now since the re-opening they're predicting 4500 deaths. As the global COVID case count rises he thinks people may think it's going away but the virus, he says, is just digging in, guys.
