U.S. still in the grip of COVID-19

President Trump

COVID-19 cases are increasing so much that 18 U.S. states have become hotspots for virus transmission.

The states have now been placed in a "red zone," meaning they logged more than 100 new cases per 100,000 individuals last week, according to an unpublished report by the White House coronavirus task force and obtained by the Center for Public Integrity. (CPI)

The 18 states (in alphabetical order) are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.

The report, which has not been made public, recommends these states implement stricter protective measures, such as limiting social gatherings to no more than 10 people, closing bars and gyms and urging residents to wear masks, the Center for Public Integrity reported. 

"The fact that it's not public makes no sense to me," Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, told the CPI. "Why are we hiding this information from the American people? This should be published and updated every day." Jha said that he thought the information and recommendations were fine. 

The report says that 11 states are in the "red zone" for test positivity, meaning more than 10% of diagnostic tests there are coming back positive. Georgia, which is in both red zones, doesn't seem to be following the recommendations of mask-wearing. In fact, quite the opposite: On Wednesday (July 15), Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed an order that bans locales in the state from requiring masks, the CPI reported

Those 11 states are: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas and Washington.

Meanwhile, eighty-five babies under age 1 have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Nueces County, Texas, said Annette Rodriguez, director of public health for Corpus Christi Nueces County, according to news reports.
A baby boy under 6 months old tested positive for the virus and died there, the Nueces County medical examiner Adel Shaker told The Texas Tribune last week.

Over the past seven days, Nueces County — where Corpus Christi is located — saw a surge in cases that represented the fastest growth in coronavirus cases of any other metro area in the state, said Peter Zanoni, the Corpus Christi city manager, as reported by CNN.