White House report recommends 18 hard-hit states impose stricter coronavirus measures

An internal White House report obtained by the Center for Public Integrity says that 18 states are in the "red zone" for COVID-19 cases — including California, Kansas, Utah, and Alabama — and should enact stricter measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus, including telling residents to wear masks and shuttering bars and gyms.

Dated July 14, this document was prepared for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, the Center for Public Integrity reports. It has been shared within the government but not posted publicly. To be in the red zone for COVID-19 cases, a state had to have reported more than 100 new cases per 100,000 people last week. There are also 11 states in the red zone for test positivity, meaning more than 10 percent of coronavirus test results came back positive.

Georgia is a red zone state for cases and test positivity, yet Gov. Brian Kemp (R) on Wednesday banned cities and counties from enforcing mask mandates, then sued Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and the Atlanta City Council on Thursday to try to block a mask recommendation. He did not respond to requests for comment.

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Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, told the Center for Public Integrity there's no reason why this White House report shouldn't be available for everyone to read. "The fact that it's not public makes no sense to me," Jha said. "Why are we hiding this information from the American people? This should be published and updated every day."