Here's a quote from one of my favorite statisticians, Nate Silver, of fivethirtyeight.com. It's from last month, but I don't think the narrative has changed much. In some parts of the country not all of the increase in Covid cases can be pinned to more testing; but in states where hospitalizations and deaths are declining, and anyone can now be tested, a total case increase is pretty insignificant.
https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1258404881347510272
I don't think the media is doing this intentionally. I just think that there is a reactionary tendency in our politics these days that has spilled over into all aspects of life - to the point where it's so ingrained that people are not even aware that they are being reactionary. And I use that word in the general sense: relating to, marked by, or favoring reaction. There's probably a better word... polarized seems too cliche... contrarian too antiquated...
Anyhow, people seem to be reacting to what other people think might (or might not) be going on, and not bothering to ask, what is really going on here?