Immune To COVID? New Study Suggests Why

As the growth in the number of new coronavirus infections ebbed in some places, others prepared for what could be one of the worst weeks of the pandemic.

U.S. officials warned of a potential spike in COVID-19 deaths with the surgeon general warning, "This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment."

Hospitals expect to be overwhelmed as cases reach projected peaks, according to a federal report released Monday. Three out of four U.S. hospitals surveyed are already treating patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, according to a survey of 323 hospitals around the country by the inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services.

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Problems such as insufficient tests, slow results, scarcity of protective gear, the shortage of breathing machines for seriously ill patients and burned-out staffs are feeding off each other, the watchdog agency found.

"There's this sort of domino effect," Ann Maxwell, an assistant inspector general at HHS, told the Associated Press. "These challenges play off each other and exacerbate the situation. There's a cascade effect."

"Hospitals anticipated being overwhelmed by a surge in COVID-19 patients, who would need specialty beds and isolation areas for effective treatment," the report said.

"It’s likely that every hospital in America is going to have to deal with this," Maxwell said.

Worldwide, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 1.3 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. More than 74,000 people have died.

In the U.S., the number of deaths exceeded 10,700. The number of infections reached more than 364,000.

Latest Developments

United States:

-Despite Gov. Tony Evers' attempts to postpone the state's Tuesday elections until June, Wisconsin's Supreme Court struck down the decision, and the state will have in-person voting unless there is an appeal. The U.S. Supreme Court also denied the state's request to extend the deadline for absentee voting by six days.

-Citing an expected spike in coronavirus cases in the city this week, Los Angeles County health officials told residents that they should skip their weekly trip to the grocery store if they have enough supplies at home, CNN.com reported. "If you have enough supplies in your home, this would be the week to skip shopping altogether," said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director for the L.A. County Department of Public Health.

-South Carolina will join 43 other states in ordering residents to stay home, Gov. Henry McMaster announced Monday afternoon. Residents may leave their homes for work, to visit family members or for outdoor recreation.

-Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock announced Monday that the city's stay-at-home order will be extended through April 30.

-Public schools in Arkansas will remain closed for the rest of the school year, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Monday. Schoolwork will be completed online under the state's alternative methods of instruction program, according to KATV. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee issued the same order later Monday. At least 13 states and one U.S. territory have ordered or recommended school building closures for the rest of the academic year, according to Education Week.

-National grocery store chain Kroger said it will limit the number of customers who can be in a store at one time to half of the building's capacity to help with social distancing.

-New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said city officials may have to turn to "temporary burials" to deal with the strain placed on mortuary services and funeral homes by the number of deaths from the new coronavirus. De Blasio did not go into much detail saying only that COVID-19 victims could be buried where they could later be tracked and later moved for burial elsewhere. Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters Monday that he had not heard of such plans, according to the New York Times.

-New York, New Jersey and Detroit will see peaks in hospitalizations and COVID-19 deaths this week, Adm. Dr. Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said Monday on NBC's Today show. Giroir explained that peak "reflects infections that occurred two or three weeks ago, and, "we may be seeing the worst upon us right now in terms of outcomes." Giroir said, "We'll see some rolling peaks across the country as the next few weeks unfold."

-Texas Department of Public Safety State Troopers are staffing road checkpoints along the border to enforce Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order requiring visitors from neighboring Louisiana to self-quarantine for 14 days. Drivers coming in from Louisiana have to fill out a form designating a quarantine location in Texas.

-Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer warned Monday that her state is running dangerously low on personal protective equipment, also called PPE. "At Beaumont Hospital we have less than 3 days until N95 masks run out. At Henry Ford Health System we have less than four days. And at the Detroit Medical Center, less than 10 days," she said. Face shields will run out in three days and surgical gowns will run out in less than six days at all three of those health systems, she said.

-With about 61% of the crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt tested, 173 members have tested positive for the coronavirus, CNN reported. About 2,000 people have been evacuated from the aircraft carrier.

-The Pentagon says the number of COVID-19 cases in the active duty force is 1,132 as of Monday morning. The total was 978 on Friday. There also have been 303 cases among members of the National Guard. Among the military services, the Navy has the most cases, with 431. That includes the infected crew members of the Theodore Roosevelt.

-A 4-year-old Malayan tiger named Nadia at the Bronx Zoo has tested positive for COVID-19 in what is believed to be the first known infection in an animal in the U.S. or a tiger anywhere, federal officials and the zoo said Sunday. Nadia and six other tigers and lions that have also fallen ill are thought to have been infected by a zoo employee who wasn't yet showing symptoms, the zoo said. All are doing well and expected to recover. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said there are no known cases of the virus in U.S. pets or livestock, and there doesn't appear to be any evidence that suggests animals can spread the virus to people.

-Pro golf officials announced a reconfigured 2020 schedule Monday. The Open Championship has been canceled for this year. It had been scheduled for July 16-19 at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England. Instead, the 149th Open will be played at Sandwich in July 2021. The PGA Championship will be the year's first major on Aug. 6-9, at Harding Park in San Francisco. The U.S. Open will be Sept. 17-20. The Masters has been moved to Nov. 12-15.

Worldwide:

-Boris Johnson, prime minister of the United Kingdom, was taken to intensive care Monday evening after his condition worsened, a spokesman said. Johnson, 55, tested positive for COVID-19 10 days ago. On Sunday, he was admitted to St Thomas' Hospital in London with persistent symptoms of the coronavirus, including a high fever and cough. "Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the prime minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the intensive care unit at the hospital," a statement from Johnson's office said. The spokesman said Johnson has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to deputize for him "where necessary," Sky News reported. Johnson remained conscious and was moved to intensive care as a precaution should he require ventilation, according to Sky News.

-Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced that parts of Danish society will gradually begin to reopen on April 15 when children return to daycare centers, kindergarten and schools up to fifth grade, the Copenhagen Post reported. Other restrictions, such as closed borders and limiting gatherings to 10 people, have been extended until May 10. Bigger events remain banned until August.

-German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it's too early to talk about an end date for restrictive measures in place to fight the coronavirus. "We would be a bad government if we did not intensively, day and night, consider how we can take steps to return to ordinary life while still protecting health,” but she added she would be considered "a bad chancellor, and we’d be a bad government," if she set an immediate date to end restrictions.

-Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he will declare a state of emergency for Tokyo and six other prefectures as early as Tuesday. Infections are soaring in the country that has the world's third-largest economy and its oldest population. He also announced details of a $989 billion economic stimulus package for the country.

-The daily number of deaths in Spain fell again Monday, marking the the fourth consecutive day. Monday’s figure of 637 is the lowest recorded since March 24. Officials believe the virus may finally be peaking in Spain, which has the second-highest death toll in the world at 13,055. The latest figures show the country also registered 4,273 new confirmed cases, bringing the total to 135,032.

-Italy is also seeing the number of infections and deaths dropping. The pressure on northern Italy’s intensive care units has eased so much that Lombardy is no longer airlifting patients to other regions, The Associated Press reports. Italy's death toll is still the highest in the world at 16,523, after the Civil Protection agency announced 636 new deaths Monday. Italy also announced 3,599 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Monday, the lowest daily increase since March 17, bringing the total number of cases in the hard-hit country to 132,547.

-India is reconsidering a blanket export ban on the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which has been touted by President Donald Trump as a possible therapy for the coronavirus. Trump called Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday and asked him to release stocks of the drug.