The United States has seen a total of 3,630,587 coronavirus cases and 138,782 deaths as of July 18, according to the CDC. That’s an increase of 74,710 cases and 918 new deaths compared to the previous day.

Coronavirus cases and deaths are rising.

So why are we gathering in groups, unmasked and not socially distanced? Why are we going to parties and hanging around in densely populated areas? We’re not near the end of this pandemic, but we sure are acting like it.

Some of this can be attributed to something called the recency effect, according to UW psychology professor Susan Joslyn. Basically, we’re more likely to remember and recall recent events. In the context of the pandemic, according to Joslyn, if you went out recently and are doing fine and nothing happened, you might be likely to assume things are fine and well now.

This is understandable, especially considering the fact that a lot of us left campus in March and have been holed up since then. We’re tired, and we just want it all to be over — but it’s not.

Read the entire story at The Daily. Judy Wasserheit, DGH Chair, is quoted.