Myriam Borzee/iStockBy MORGAN WINSOR and ERIN SCHUMAKER, ABC News
(NEW YORK) — A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1 million people worldwide.
Over 37.4 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The criteria for diagnosis — through clinical means or a lab test — has varied from country-to-country. Still, the actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some national governments are hiding or downplaying the scope of their outbreaks.
Since the first cases were detected in China in December, the virus has rapidly spread to every continent except Antarctica.
The United States is the worst-affected country, with more than 7.7 million diagnosed cases and at least 214,771 deaths.
California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 855,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 818,000 cases and over 734,000 cases, respectively.
More than 190 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 are being tracked by the World Health Organization, at least 10 of which are in crucial phase three studies. Of those 10 potential vaccines in late-stage trials, there are currently five that will be available in the United States if approved.
Here’s how the news is developing Monday. All times Eastern:
Oct 12, 1:14 pm
HHS whistleblower says public should not trust White House on COVID-19
Whistleblower Rick Bright, the federal vaccine expert who was ousted from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services after he lodged a complaint against the Trump Administration earlier this year, said that the public should not trust the White House when it comes to information about the coronavirus, during an interview with ABC’s The View on Monday.
“We need to hear directly from the scientists at the CDC, at the FDA and at the NIH,” Bright said. “Public health guidelines have been disparaged and ignored,” he added, referring to the White House.
“This is why we have 215,000 dead Americans today. This is why we have up to 50,000 new infections today. This is why we’re going to have terrible winter if we don’t do something now to turn around the rhetoric, tell people the truth.”
Oct 12, 12:07 pm
Analysis shows cases rising in 32 states plus DC
An ABC News analysis of COVID-19 trends across all 50 U.S. states as well as Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico found there were increases in newly confirmed cases over the past two weeks in 32 states as well as the nation’s capital.
The analysis also found increases in the daily positivity rate of COVID-19 tests in 22 states plus D.C., increases in COVID-19 hospitalizations in 35 states and increases in daily COVID-19 death tolls in 13 states plus Puerto Rico.
The seven-day average of new cases in the United States is the highest it has been since Aug. 17.
Last week, 14 states reported their greatest single-day increases in the number of new COVID-19 cases, while 14 states hit a record number of current COVID-19 hospitalizations and two states recorded their highest single-day death tolls from the disease.
The trends were all analyzed from data collected and published by the COVID Tracking Project over the past two weeks, using the linear regression trend line of the seven-day moving average.
ABC News’ Benjamin Bell, Brian Hartman, Soorin Kim and Arielle Mitropolous contributed to this report.
Oct 12, 12:14 pm
UK prime minister outlines 3-tier lockdown system for England
The Liverpool area will be placed on the highest tier of England’s new COVID-19 alert system from Wednesday, with bars, pubs and gyms forced to close, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced.
Johnson outlined the country’s new three-tier system of COVID-19 alert levels on Monday afternoon, while addressing lawmakers in the House of Commons. He said every area of England will be placed into one of the three tiers — “medium,” “high” and “very high.”
The “medium” level, which the prime minister said will cover most of the country, will consist of national measures, including the “rule of six” — a ban on any gathering of more than six people — and a 10 p.m. curfew for hospitality venues.
The “high” level, Johnson said, will prevent all social mixing indoors between different households or support bubbles in an effort to reduce household-to-household transmission, with the “rule of six” still in effect for mixing outdoors.
“Most areas which are already subject to local restrictions will automatically move into the ‘high’ alert level,” the prime minister told lawmakers.
The “very high” level will ban social mixing indoors and in private gardens, along with the closure of all bars, pubs, gyms, betting shops, casinos and leisure centers in these areas, according to Johnson. The Liverpool City Region, home to 1.5 million people, is the first area to enter the “very high” alert level.
“The ‘very high’ alert level will apply where transmission rates are rising most rapidly,” Johnson said.
All retail outlets, schools and universities will remain open across England.
“This is not how we want to live our lives,” the prime minister told lawmakers. “But this is the narrow path we have to tread between the social and economic trauma of a full lockdown and the massive human and indeed economic cost of an uncontained epidemic.”
The new measures come as England saw its number of COVID-19 infections quadruple in the last three weeks. There are now more patients hospitalized with COVID-19 than when the country went into lockdown in late March, according to Johnson.
“I must warn the House, the weeks and months ahead will continue to be difficult and will test the mettle of this country,” he said. “I have no doubt at all that together we will succeed.”
Oct 12, 11:01 am
Czech Republic introduces more restrictions after record surge
The Czech Republic has imposed more restrictive measures aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19, as the country combats the highest rate of infection in Europe.
Cinemas, gyms, indoor public swimming pools, theaters and zoos will all be shuttered for at least two weeks. Bars and restaurants are ordered to close by 8 p.m. and no more than four patrons are allowed at a table. All universities and most high schools will offer only remote classes.
The new measures announced by the Czech government come as the European country of 10.7 million hit a new peak of 8,618 confirmed cases on Friday, up more than 3,000 from the previous day. The cumulative total stands at 117,110 confirmed cases with 987 deaths, according to the latest data from the Czech health ministry.
The Czech government declared a second state of emergency on Oct. 5 due to the rapid increase in COVID-19 infections, after having relaxed almost all restrictions over the summer. The declaration will last for 30 days.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Friday that he cannot rule out a nationwide lockdown.
ABC News’ Dragana Jovanovic contributed to this report.
Oct 12, 8:57 am
France is in a ‘strong second wave,’ prime minister warns
French Prime Minister Jean Castex warned Monday that tougher restrictions could be imposed as the country battles a “strong second wave” of COVID-19.
“The French thought it was over,” Castex said during an interview on French news broadcaster France Info. “There can be no more relaxation.”
At least nine major cities, including Paris and Marseille, have been placed under the maximum COVID-19 alert level as intensive care wards fill up again with patients. Castex said a “general lockdown” of the entire country “must be avoided by all means” but added that nothing should be ruled out, including local lockdowns.
Castex’s warning comes as France hit a new record of daily COVID-19 cases over the weekend, with 26,896 confirmed in a 24-hour period.
France’s public health agency confirmed 16,101 new cases and 46 deaths on Sunday. The cumulative totals now stand at 734,974 confirmed cases and 32,730 deaths, making France one of Europe’s hardest-hit countries in the coronavirus pandemic.
Oct 12, 7:42 am
UK prime minister to announce new measures for England amid rising infections
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce tighter restrictions for England under a new three-tier system of COVID-19 alert levels.
Areas of England will be placed into “medium,” “high” and “very high” alert levels with restrictions of varying severity. It’s unclear which areas will be covered by which alert levels and what the respective interventions are. Johnson is expected to provide details on the new measures when he addresses lawmakers at the House of Commons on Monday afternoon.
The country’s medical chiefs warned of a resurgence in COVID-19 during a press conference Monday morning, pointing to graphs that showed rising infections and hospitalizations in swathes of England as winter approaches.
Liverpool has one of the highest levels of COVID-19 infection in England, with more than 600 cases per 100,000 population. The area is expected to be placed under the most stringent level of restrictions.
Oct 12, 6:56 am
Russia registers over 13,000 new cases for second straight day
Russia confirmed 13,592 new cases of COVID-19 and 125 deaths over the past 24 hours.
It’s the second straight day that Russia has tallied over 13,000 new cases. The country’s record of 13,634 new cases was set the previous day.
The national tally now stands at 1,312,310 confirmed cases with 22,727 deaths, according to Russia’s coronavirus response headquarters.
More than 32% of the newly confirmed cases — 4,395 — and 27% of the newly reported deaths — 34 — were registered in Moscow, the epicenter of the country’s COVID-19 outbreak. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said this week will be “largely decisive” in the fight against the city’s outbreak.
Russian authorities have said there’s no immediate plan to impose a second nationwide lockdown, even as the country’s outbreak grows after most coronavirus-related restrictions were lifted over the summer.
Officials in Moscow, however, have recommended that the elderly self-isolate at home and also encouraged businesses to have at least one-third of their employees work from home. School holidays in the capital this month were extended from one to two weeks.
Oct 12, 6:28 am
India becomes second country in the world to surpass seven million cases
India confirmed another 66,732 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, driving the country’s tally to more than 7.1 million.
An additional 816 coronavirus-related fatalities were also recorded. The country’s cumulative totals now stand at 7,120,538 confirmed cases and 109,150 deaths, according to the latest data from the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
India is only the second country in the world to surpass seven million total cases, after the United States. The spread of the virus in India appears to have slowed down since mid-September, when the country registered a record 97,894 new cases in a single day. So far this month, India is averaging more than 70,000 cases per day.
India is still on track to become the pandemic’s worst-hit nation within days, overtaking the United States, where more than 7.4 million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Oct 12, 5:36 am
China to test entire city of nine million amid outbreak linked to hospital
All nine million residents of the Chinese city of Qingdao will be tested for COVID-19 this week amid an outbreak linked to a hospital.
The Qingdao Municipal Health Commission made the announcement in a statement Monday, saying the entire city would be tested within five days and the results would be released immediately. The move comes after nine new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in Qingdao, of which eight are patients at the city’s Municipal Chest Hospital and one is a family member. Four of the cases were asymptomatic, which China does not count as confirmed cases.
The Qingdao Municipal Health Commission said the specific source of infection remains under investigation.
As of Monday, 114,862 people — including medical staff and newly hospitalized patients — had tested negative for COVID-19 in Qingdao, according to the city’s health commission.
China’s National Health Commission has so far reported 85,578 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 4,634 deaths on the Chinese mainland, where the coronavirus pandemic began last December.
Oct 12, 5:05 am
US reports more than 44,000 new cases
There were 44,614 new cases of COVID-19 identified in the United States on Sunday, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
The latest daily tally is down by more than 10,000 from the previous day and falls well under the country’s record set on July 16, when there were 77,255 new cases in a 24-hour-reporting period.
An additional 400 coronavirus-related fatalities were also recorded Sunday, down from a peak of 2,666 new fatalities reported on April 17.
A total of 7,762,809 people in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 214,771 of them have died, according to Johns Hopkins. The cases include people from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C. and other U.S. territories as well as repatriated citizens.
By May 20, all U.S. states had begun lifting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The day-to-day increase in the country’s cases then hovered around 20,000 for a couple of weeks before shooting back up and crossing 70,000 for the first time in mid-July. The daily tally of new cases has gradually come down since then but has started to climb again in recent weeks.
Week-over-week comparisons show the number of new cases reported across the nation continues to go up, as does the usage of intensive care units, but the number of new deaths are down, according to an internal memo from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that was obtained by ABC News last week.
Oct 12, 4:46 am
Mexico confirms first case of someone with both COVID-19 and influenza
Mexico has confirmed its first case of an individual who has tested positive for both COVID-19 and influenza at the same time.
Dr. Jose Luis Alomia Zegarra, director general of epidemiology at the Mexican Ministry of Health, told a press conference Sunday night that the case was detected in a 54-year-old woman with a number of preexisting conditions who remains hospitalized in stable condition after developing COVID-19 symptoms. She’s a cancer survivor and suffers from autoimmune disease, chronic pulmonary issues as well as obesity, according to Zegarra.
Zegarra said the woman first displayed symptoms of COVID-19 at the end of September and was hospitalized. She tested positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 2 as she awaited the results of a panel of over a dozen viral exams. The patient started to receive therapy for COVID-19 and was later discharged from the hospital between Oct. 5 and Oct. 6 after her condition improved.
On Oct. 8, while at home, the woman started to have a fever and respiratory issues again. She was admitted to the hospital a second time, according to Zegarra.
On Saturday, the patient’s full virus panel test returned with positive results for both COVID-19 and influenza, Zegarra said.
Since the start of the pandemic, Mexico’s health ministry has confirmed more than 817,000 cases of COVID-19 with at least 83,781 deaths. The country has the four-highest death toll from COVID-19 in the world, according to tallies kept by Johns Hopkins University.
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