Immune To COVID? New Study Suggests Why

The government of the Bahamas is banning tourists from the United States to prevent them from bringing COVID-19 to the island nation.

The ban applies to anyone arriving by commercial flights or boats and goes into effect at midnight Wednesday, according to a news release from the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation.

Visitors from the U.S. can still arrive on private planes, charter flights, pleasure craft and yachts, except in Freeport. All travelers are required to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test within the past 10 days.

"Since opening borders to international travel on July 1, The Bahamas has unfortunately experienced a deterioration in conditions relative to COVID-19," the news release said. "These restrictions have been put in place to protect the health and wellbeing of both residents and visitors, which remains of primary importance, and to prevent the spread of the virus throughout The Bahamas."

Travelers from Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union are still welcome.

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The Bahamas saw a record 7.2 million tourists last year, despite some of the islands being dealt a devastating blow by Hurricane Dorian. Millions of people from the U.S. visit each year, with most traveling from or through Florida, currently a global hotspot for COVID-19.

Cruises out of the U.S., which include the Bahamas as one of their most popular destinations, were suspended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention until at least Oct. 1.

The Bahamas, which has a population of about 390,000 people, has 174 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 11 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. About one third of those have been reported in the past week.

The U.S. has counted more than 3.8 million infections and at least 140,909 deaths. More than 14.7 million known cases of COVID-19 have been reported worldwide and more than 610,000 people have died.

Latest Developments

United States

-Attendance at the Indianapolis 500 will be limited to 25% capacity, and all spectators will be required to wear face masks, WISH-TV reported. The race, normally run on the Sunday before Memorial Day, was pushed back to Aug. 23. Race officials had previously announced attendance would be capped at 50%.

-Only about half of Americans surveyed in a poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research said they would get a vaccination against COVID-19. Many said they were worried about safety as pharmaceutical companies race to produce a vaccine. Executives from three companies leading the effort told Congress Tuesday that they hope to have a vaccine available for distribution by the end of the year, an unprecedented timeline.

-Arkansas has reached a new high of hospitalizations due to COVID-19, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said during a news briefing Tuesday afternoon. Hutchinson 488 people were hospitalized statewide. Arkansas has more than 33,900 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 363 people in the state have died.

-Thirty-four states are above the 5% test positivity threshold that the World Health Organization considers a benchmark. Nine states are reporting a positive test rate of 15% or higher over the last seven days, according to Johns Hopkins. Arizona reported nearly a quarter of people tested were positive, while Nevada, Idaho and Florida each recorded a positivity rate around 19%. The rest of the states above 15% are Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi, Texas and Georgia.

-Florida's largest teachers union is suing Gov. Ron DeSantis over his order to open schools in August. “It is nonsensical to think that we are ready to open brick and mortar and begin teaching in just two weeks,” FEA President Fedrick Ingram told the Today show Tuesday morning. “2.8 million children are depending on us to get this right.” Ingram added that the state's educators don't want to be "the petri dish for America." Florida has reported more than 369,000 cases of COVID-19, the third highest number in the U.S. behind New York and California, and 5,200 deaths.

-Thirty-eight people connected to a high school football team in Kentucky tested positive for COVID-19, according to a report by the Lexington Herald-Leader. Hazard Independent High School in southeastern Kentucky suspended athletic team workouts on July 11, after 9 football players and a coach tested positive. Since then, a total of 18 players, three coaches and 17 of their family members or close contacts have also tested positive. Last week, a high school in Illinois reported 36 cases of COVID-19 related to athletic teams.

-President Donald Trump said regular White House coronavirus briefings will resume. The briefings, often contentious and questioned by experts, stopped as coronavirus cases began to surge in the U.S. Trump's desire to restart them is a reflection of his concerns over plummeting approval ratings, The Washington Post reported.

-A shelter-in-place order was issued Monday in Hidalgo County, Texas, over fears of rising coronavirus cases. The order also mandates a 10 p.m. to 5 p.m. curfew, requires anyone under 17 to have an adult with them if they leave home and advises that nonessential business only operate if they can provide services via takeout, delivery or curbside pickup. Texas government Greg Abbott, meanwhile, says the order is unenforceable because it goes beyond restrictions put in place by the state. Hidalgo County, in southern Texas on the Mexico border, is just one of several areas in Texas where hospitals are being overwhelmed, the Texas Tribune reported.

-Maryland's Anne Arundel County Public Schools announced the school year would begin with online classes only, for at least the first semester.

-Amazon pushed back the annual "Prime Day" sale, but didn't give a new date, according to CNBC. The sale for prime members only, typically held in July, is billed as the online retailer's biggest event of the year. The delay was expected as Amazon deals with high demand from online shoppers and outbreaks of COVID-19 in its warehouses nationwide.

-LinkedIn, a mainstay for professional networking and recruiting, is cutting 6% of its staff worldwide. About 960 jobs will be lost, the company said in a statement. The economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has led lower demand for LinkedIn's services as companies hire less people. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft.

-Two COVID-19 testing centers in Washington, D.C, reopened Tuesday, but the rest remained closed due to excessive heat. The city has at least 11 public testing sites, according to the D.C. Department of Health website.

Worldwide:

-Three vaccines in development showed promise in results of trials released Monday. Especially positive were the results from Oxford University, where a study involving 1,077 people showed the shot could successfully protect against COVID-19, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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.