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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) asked his state’s residents to “commit” to wearing a mask for four weeks, despite his ongoing lawsuit against Atlanta officials for mandating a face covering be worn. "Today, I am encouraging all Georgians – from every corner of our great state – to do four things for four weeks to stop the spread of COVID-19," Kemp said in a statement. "If Georgians commit to wearing a mask, socially distancing, washing their hands regularly, and following the guidance in our Executive Order and from public health officials, we can make incredible progress in the fight against COVID-19..." (Axelrod, 7/21)

A month after Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo issued her order mandating that businesses require customers wear masks, indications are emerging that the novel coronavirus’ surge in the Houston area may be starting to taper off. The improvement is reflected in a number of recent trends — a plateau, then decline, in Texas Medical Center hospitalizations; a drop in the positive diagnostic test rate in the metro area; and a downward trajectory in the amount of viral spread in the community. The improvement follows a post-Fourth of July spike that halted earlier momentum. (Ackerman, 7/21)

Marriott Hotels will soon require guests to use facial coverings in its 7,300 hotels worldwide, chief executive Arne Sorenson announced Monday in a video. The world’s biggest hotel chain has required employees to wear masks for months, but effective Monday, the rule will also apply to customers in all indoor public spaces, Sorenson explained after removing his own purple mask. (Telford, 7/21)

In other news about masks —

HHS' Office for Civil Rights resolved two religious discrimination complaints against hospitals, the agency said Tuesday. Staten Island University Hospital in New York paused medical student rotations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, later requiring returning students to fit-test and wear N95 respirator masks when serving patients. It asked a returning student to shave his beard to ensure he could wear an N95 mask correctly, even though he passed an N95 fit test with his beard before the COVID-19 outbreak. (Brady, 7/21)

One of the original "Rosie the Riveters" is serving her country once more. Mae Krier, 94, worked in a Boeing factory during World War II, where she helped make warplanes. Now, she's helping fight a different battle — coronavirus. (Asmelash, 7/21)

If people washed their hands regularly, wore masks, and kept their social distance from each other, these three simple behaviors could stop most all of the Covid-19 pandemic, even without a vaccine or additional treatments, according to a new study. The study, published Tuesday in the journal PLoS Medicine, created a new model to look at the spread of the disease and prevention efforts that could help stop it. (Christensen, 7/22)