Immune To COVID? New Study Suggests Why

Even as U.S. health officials on Monday said social distancing restrictions are working, President Donald Trump, under increasing pressure to get the economy flowing again, appeared to be losing patience with one of the biggest proponents of the guidelines, Dr. Anthony Fauci.

The effects of social distancing can be seen in the number of COVID-19 cases leveling off or even declining in some hot spots.

Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said in a tweet that California and Washington state remain stable, and cases in New York, New Jersey, Detroit and New Orleans appear to be leveling off or declining.

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"Social distancing and mitigation IS working. There is a light at the end of this dark tunnel, so keep at it!" Adams wrote.

(MORE: Tornadoes, Severe Storms Kill More Than 30 in South)

Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, credited the restrictions with keeping deaths from the new coronavirus from reaching projected figures of 250,000 to 1 million.

"I think the social distancing that the American people all embraced to the reality we see overall mortality, while sadly too high, was far less than we anticipated," Redfield said on NBC's "Today" show.

At the same time, Redfield cautioned that getting the country back to work has to be a careful "step-by-step, gradual process."

Joining the call for a cautious reopening of the country was Dr. Fauci, the head of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. At the same time, Fauci said Sunday on CNN’s "State of the Union" that earlier mitigation efforts could have saved more lives if they had been put in place in February instead of mid-March.

"I mean, obviously, you could logically say that if you had a process that was ongoing and you started mitigation earlier, you could have saved lives," Fauci said. "Obviously, no one is going to deny that. But what goes into those decisions is complicated."

"But you're right," he added. "I mean, obviously, if we had right from the very beginning shut everything down, it may have been a little bit different. But there was a lot of pushback about shutting things down back then."

Later Sunday, Trump retweeted a former Republican congressional candidate, DeAnna Lorraine, who praised Trump's decision to issue travel restrictions against China in early February and said it was "Time to #FireFauci."

"This media chatter is ridiculous," deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said. "President Trump is not firing Dr. Fauci."

According to a tweet from Fox News White House correspondent John Roberts, Gidley said the president's tweet was meant to expose efforts by the media to criticize Trump's decisions on travel from China.

"Dr. Fauci has been and remains a trusted adviser to President Trump," Gidley said. Trump reiterated in a Monday evening press briefing that he has no plans to fire Fauci.

The U.S. has the most confirmed cases and deaths of any nation, more than 577,000 and more than 23,000, respectively, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Worldwide, the number of COVID-19 cases has topped 1.9 million, and more than 118,000 people have died.

Latest Developments

United States:

-The governors of seven Northeast states announced a partnership that will work on a plan to eventually restart the region's economy, Politico reported. Those states, according to the report, are: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Rhode Island. The governors of California, Oregon and Washington announced a similar plan, forming the Western States Pact, according to the New York Times.

-On Monday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee extended the state's stay-at-home order through April 30.

-Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said Monday that the state's public schools will not reopen in the 2019-20 school year.

-President Trump, who spent weeks arguing he didn't think he should pressure states that hadn't imposed stay-at-home restrictions to do so, asserted Monday that he'll decide when to relax the nation's social distancing guidelines. He tweeted, "For the purpose of creating conflict and confusion, some in the Fake News Media are saying that it is the Governors decision to open up the states, not that of the President of the United States & the Federal Government. Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect. It is the decision of the President, and for many good reasons. With that being said, the Administration and I are working closely with the Governors, and this will continue. A decision by me, in conjunction with the Governors and input from others, will be made shortly!"

-In a daily coronavirus briefing, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said "the worst is over" but New Yorkers need to "continue to be smart." He said, “If you isolate, if you take the precautions, your family won’t get infected. We can control the spread. Feel good about that.” He also warned that controls need to be released smartly. “The worst is over. Yeah, if we continue to be smart going forward. Because remember we have the hand on that valve. You turn that valve too fast, you will see that number jump right back," he said.

-Amazon announced plans to hire 75,000 more workers to help keep up with the demand for household essentials and other goods, CNN reported. The company said it already has hired 100,000 new workers for its distribution centers since announcing plans to do so in mid-March.

-A crew member of the USS Theodore Roosevelt has died from COVID-19 complications, the U.S. Navy said. The sailor, who was hospitalized in intensive care on the island of Guam last week, was among nearly 600 crew members of the aircraft carrier to test positive for the new coronavirus. Over the weekend, four more crew members were transferred to the hospital.

-The U.S. Supreme Court for the first time will hold oral arguments via teleconference next month, the court announced Monday. "In keeping with public health guidance in response to COVID-19, the justices and counsel will all participate remotely," a statement said. "The court anticipates providing a live audio feed of these arguments to news media. Details will be shared as they become available."

-George Stephanopoulos of ABC's "Good Morning America" has tested positive for COVID-19. He announced his diagnosis Monday on the show, nearly two weeks after his wife, actress and bestselling author Ali Wentworth, confirmed she had tested positive for the disease caused by the new coronavirus. He said he has not had any symptoms of the illness.

Worldwide:

-United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson is continuing his recovery from COVID-19 and, at the advice of his doctors, is "not immediately returning to work," a spokesman said. Johnson was discharged from St. Thomas’ Hospital in London on Sunday and then went to the prime minister's country residence.

-South Korea is sending 600,000 COVID-19 test kits to the U.S. beginning as soon as Tuesday afternoon, CNN reported. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told France 24 the tests received preliminary FDA approval "as a result of conversation between my president and President Trump last month. I think the contracts have been signed and they should be ready for shipment anytime soon."

-In Spain, about 300,000 non-essential workers who cannot work from home, such as those working in construction and other industries, went back to their jobs Monday in the Madrid region, CNN reported. Shops, bars, restaurants and other businesses considered non-essential remain closed.

For the latest coronavirus information in your county and a full list of important resources to help you make the smartest decisions regarding the disease, check out our dedicated COVID-19 page.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.