Immune To COVID? New Study Suggests Why

The number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus has climbed above 6.3 million worldwide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The death toll is more than 378,000 people. More than 1.8 million cases are confirmed in the U.S., where the death toll is more than 106,000 people.

Latest Developments

United States:

-New York City's contract tracing program reached more than half of the 600 people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the city on Monday, the first day of the program. “On Day 1 of the program, seeking to reach several hundred people and have what could be an hour conversation with each of them was a tall order,” Dr. Ted Long, the head of the city’s contact tracing program, said at a news briefing, according to The Associated Press. The city has hired 1,700 out of a planned 2,500 so far. Among their duties is helping those who test positive to self isolate, and reaching out to others they have come in close contact with.

-Most counties and cities in Virginia will move to the second phase of reopening Friday, Gov. Ralph Northam said Tuesday. That includes restaurants serving customers inside, gyms allowing patrons inside and zoos and museums again welcoming visitors, all with certain restrictions. Northern Virginia and Richmond will remain in phase one.

-At least 86 of 126 crew members aboard a North Pacific fishing trawler operated American Seafoods have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a statement from the company. The Seattle Times reported that all crew members of the American Dynasty were screened for the coronavirus and underwent quarantines before the ship headed out to sea on May 13. When it docked in Bellingham, Washington, last week, one crew member reported feeling sick, tested positive for COVID-19 and was hospitalized. That prompted the company to have the rest of the crew screened.

-A Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 70% of Americans said they would get a vaccine to protect against the novel coronavirus if immunizations were free and available to everyone. The interest varies a bit between Democrats and Republicans. Slightly more than 8 in 10 Democrats said they would definitely or probably get vaccinated, compared with slightly fewer than 6 in 10 Republicans. Independents fell in between.

-Michigan's Gov. Gretchen Whitmer lifted a stay-at-home order for the state. Groups of 100 people or fewer will be allowed to gather outdoors. Restaurants are also allowed to reopen, though tables must be at least 6 feet apart.

-Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced more restrictions will be lifted beginning Friday. Bars and breweries without a food permit will be allowed to reopen at 25% capacity. Spas, massage parlors, tattoo parlors, bowling alleys, and event centers will also be able to reopen. Restaurants, stores, and other businesses that have been operating at 25% capacity will be able to operate at 50% capacity.

Worldwide:

-A much anticipated report published Tuesday by Public Health England found that black and Asian people in the U.K. are up to 50% more likely to die from COVID-19 than those of white ethnicity, The Washington Post reported. The investigation found that people of Bangladeshi ethnicity had twice the risk of death than those of white ethnicity. The risk was also higher for Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Caribbean and black ethnicities. The study also found that people 80 and older were 70 times were likely to die than those who were under the age of 40. The death rate was also higher in deprived areas, and it was higher in males than females.

-A 71-year-old man is the first Rohingya living in crowded refugee camps in Bangladesh to die because of COVID-19, The Guardian reported. He died May 31 in one of the isolation centers that the United Nations and other aid agencies had set up to treat coronavirus patients. As many as 1 million Rohingya, who have faced generations of ethnic persecution in Myanmar, have crowded into camps in Cox's Bazar on the southeast coast of Bangladesh.

-Coronavirus tests on 9.9 million residents of Wuhan, China, found no new confirmed cases, according to Lu Zuxun, of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association. Three-hundred asymptomatic infections were discovered, but China does not count asymptomatic cases as confirmed.

-Epidemiologist Neil Ferguson from Imperial College London said the coronavirus outbreak in the United Kingdom is unlikely to worsen during the summer but that the outlook from September was “very unclear.”

-Africa’s coronavirus cases have surpassed 150,000, and some of the continent's 54 countries are struggling with when to reopen schools and parts of their economies. Rwanda slowed the easing of its reopening this week after reporting its first COVID-19 death. More than 4,300 deaths have been confirmed across the continent.

-South Korea has reported 38 new cases of COVID-19, all but one in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area. Hundreds of cases have been linked to workplaces, including call centers and a massive warehouse. At least two dozen cases have been linked to churches near Seoul.

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.

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