Immune To COVID? New Study Suggests Why

The White House's coronavirus task force recommended that a mask mandate be issued in Georgia, some businesses shut down and social distancing measures increased to help curb the spread of COVID-19.

But the guidance remained unknown until it was leaked to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The newspaper reported Thursday on the document, which was dated Aug. 9.

The guidelines also advised limiting capacity at restaurants and ramping up testing and contact tracing.

"Current mitigation efforts are not having a sufficient impact," the recommendations said.

(MORE: What It's Like to Be in a Vaccine Trial)

Georgia, led by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, was one of the most aggressive states in terms of reopening. Kemp has refused to issue a mask mandate and he sued the city of Atlanta for requiring face coverings. The lawsuit was dropped this week, but Kemp has ordered that local governments can't make any rules stricter than those issued by the state.

Cases of COVID-19 have surged in the state in recent weeks, and nearly doubled in the past month, according to data tracked by Johns Hopkins University. The state has more than 228,000 confirmed infections, the fifth-highest in the nation. Some 4,538 people have died of COVID-19 in Georgia.

Health experts have lashed out at Kemp's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr. Carlos del Rio, executive associate dean at Emory University School of Medicine at Grady Health System, told the Journal-Constitution that the White House recommendations are based on sound science.

"We’re not doing anything and we’re hoping magically numbers are going to go down," he said of the state's response. "Hope is not a strategy."

Nationwide, more than 5.2 million people have tested positive for COVID-19 and at least 167,000 have died from the disease, according to Johns Hopkins. In all, nearly 21 million worldwide have been infected and more than 760,000 have died.

Latest Developments

United States:

-California is the first U.S. state to surpass 600,000 cases of COVID-19. Only seven entire countries have recorded more cases. Florida and Texas each have confirmed more than 500,000 confirmed cases, while New York, once the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, sits at about 423,000.

-Dr. Anthony Fauci says the idea of "herd immunity" would lead to even more deaths. "If everyone contracted it, even with the relatively high percentage of people without symptoms ... a lot of people are going to die," Fauci said in an interview with actor Matthew McConaughey, according to CNN.

-The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the U.S. could hit 200,000 deaths by Labor Day.

-The first known high school football game since the pandemic started was played Thursday night in Herriman, Utah, CBS News reported. Capacity was limited to 25%, and fans sat in assigned seats. Players and cheerleaders wore masks before kickoff, but not during the game itself. There was no marching band.

Worldwide:

-New Zealand extended a lockdown in Auckland as officials rushed to contain the first cases of COVID-19 confirmed in residents as opposed to foreign travelers in 102 days. Health authorities suspect the virus was reintroduced to the country from an overseas source, and are investigating whether ship workers may have carried it with them, the Associated Press reported.

-The United Kingdom ordered that travelers from France quarantine for 14 days.

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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