More than a quarter million Americans have officially died from the coronavirus since the pandemic began. Across the country cases of infection are increasing just as scientists predicted they would in the winter months. States are returning to restrictions and curfews including in New York City where schools will once more close down 8 weeks after reopening. The state of Iowa has mandated wearing masks and in Ohio there is now a curfew at night. Hawaii is the only state where cases remain steady. Dr. Anthony Fauci lamented the “disjointed” approach to curbing the virus and said the nation needed “a uniform approach,” which strongly implied that President Donald Trump’s leadership has failed on this front. The number of people hospitalized has doubled in the past month. Associated Press explained, “Overwhelmed hospitals are converting chapels, cafeterias, waiting rooms, hallways, even a parking garage into patient treatment areas. Staff members are desperately calling around to other medical centers in search of open beds. Fatigue and frustration are setting in among front-line workers.” Admiral Brett Giroir of the Department of Health and Human Services said, “I lose sleep at night over where we are in the pandemic right now…This is crunch time. This is not crying wolf.”

President Donald Trump’s failures on the pandemic is on full display with a clear correlation showing how states with the fewest restrictions have had the worst outbreaks of the virus. The conclusion is based on a study by Oxford University researchers one of whom told the New York Times, “States that have kept more control policies in a more consistent way — New England states, for example — have avoided a summer surge and are now having a smaller fall surge, as opposed to states that rolled them back very quickly like Florida or Texas.” Trump and his Republican Party allies have repeatedly and vociferously denounced safety precautions against the virus. Trump adviser Scott Atlas just days ago urged Michiganders to “rise up” against new restrictions in their state. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, whose state has one of the worst outbreaks has rigidly backed Trump’s approach in the face of mass infections and deaths.

In other news, a lawsuit against Tyson Foods corporation alleges that managers bet money on their workers catching the virus. The lawsuit blames the company for “fraudulent misrepresentations, gross negligence and incorrigible, willful and wanton disregard for worker safety.” As infections increase retail workers who are still required to work indoors are not getting extra hazard pay for their risks. Among the businesses whose profits are booming but who stopped the hazard pay are Amazon, Walmart, and Kroger. Walmart is also under fire for underpaying its employees so much that taxpaye...