By WILLIAM MANSELL and EMILY SHAPIRO, ABC News
(NEW YORK) — A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1 million people worldwide.
Over 34 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 7.2 million diagnosed cases and at least 207,008 deaths.
California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 819,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 773,000 cases and over 706,000 cases, respectively.
Nearly 190 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 are being tracked by the World Health Organization, at least nine of which are in crucial phase three trials.
Here is how the news is developing Thursday. All times Eastern:
Oct 01, 4:18 pm
Washington Monument reopens to public
Visitors can now return to the top of the Washington Monument for the first time since March 13. The monument reopened to the public on Thursday after a six-month closure due to COVID-19.
WE ARE OPEN!! The first visitors since March 13 are on their way up to the top of the Washington Monument. Tickets are available each day starting at 10 am for the following day’s visit from https://t.co/PA6Q5cvOt7 only; there are no walk up tickets available. pic.twitter.com/DQSX2JN92W
— National Mall NPS (@NationalMallNPS) October 1, 2020
The National Park Service said it has new cleaning procedures, like closing from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. each day to disinfect. The National Park Service said it’s enforcing “significantly reduced elevator capacity, limiting trips to 4-8 passengers.”
Tickets are only available in advance online to promote distancing
Oct 01, 12:15 pm
New York state launches tracing app
New York state has launched a tracing app that uses cellphone technology to tell you if you were in contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19.
The app tells you if you were within 6 feet of a positive person and if you were close to that person for 10 minutes, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.
“It doesn’t give names, it doesn’t give any privacy information,” he said.
The app works in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
Oct 01, 12:02 pm
No large events at Buckingham Palace this year
Buckingham Palace will not host any major events this year due to the pandemic, according to an update on the website.
“A variety of possibilities were examined to see if it was possible for Investitures [ceremonies to award honors] to safely take place in line with the guidelines. Sadly, due to the large numbers of guests and recipients attending, it was not possible to find a way of safely delivering these events in the current circumstances,” Buckingham Palace said.
The Queen still plans to divide her time between Windsor and Buckingham Palace.
ABC News’ Zoe Magee contributed to this report.
Oct 01, 11:01 am
New CDC guidance says entry testing at colleges might reduce transmission
The CDC has released extensive new guidance for colleges and universities dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks, dropping its previous recommendation against “entry” testing and now saying that approach might “prevent or reduce” transmission.
The CDC’s new guidance, which was quietly updated Wednesday, says due to the “frequent movement of faculty, staff and students” between campuses and the community, “a strategy of entry screening combined with regular serial testing might prevent or reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission.”
The new guidance seems to take into account growing cases near college towns since school returned this fall. The CDC said in June that it did “not recommend entry testing of all returning students, faculty, and staff.”
That guidance was delivered at a time when the U.S. testing system was stressed and some people were reporting that it took several days or even weeks to get a result. Since then, testing has become somewhat more available and college campuses have experienced a major surge in cases.
ABC News’ Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.
Oct 01, 10:02 am
Steelers-Titans game pushed back to later in season due to more COVID-19 cases
The Pittsburgh Steelers-Tennessee Titans game, originally set for Sunday and then delayed to Monday or Tuesday, has now been pushed back to later in the season due to more COVID-19 cases, the NFL said Thursday.
One more Titans player and one more personnel member have tested positive, the NFL said Thursday. This comes after four Titans players and five team personnel members tested positive this week, according to ESPN.
“The Titans facility will remain closed and the team will continue to have no in-person activities,” the NFL said in a statement Thursday. “An announcement of the new game date will be made shortly.”
Oct 01, 9:49 am
Steelers-Titans game pushed back to later in season due to more COVID-19 cases
The Pittsburgh Steelers-Tennessee Titans game, originally set for Sunday and then delayed to Monday or Tuesday, has now been pushed back to later in the season due to more COVID-19 cases, the NFL said Thursday.
One more Titans player and one more personnel member have tested positive, the NFL said Thursday. This comes after four Titans players and five team personnel members tested positive this week, according to ESPN.
“The Titans facility will remain closed and the team will continue to have no in-person activities,” the NFL said in a statement Thursday. “An announcement of the new game date will be made shortly.”
Oct 01, 9:29 am
September marks Tennessee’s deadliest month
September was Tennessee’s deadliest month of the pandemic, ABC Nashville affiliate WKRN-TV reported.
Over 196,000 people have been diagnosed in the state since March, and at least 2,454 people have died, according to state health data.
Of those tested across the state on Wednesday, 7.04% were positive, according to state data.
Oct 01, 7:53 am
University suspends 38 student-athletes for attending off-campus party
At least 38 student-athletes at the University of Denver have been suspended after recently attending a large, off-campus party.
The athletes, which are part of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams, violated state and local public health orders along with university policies, the school said Wednesday.
The University of Denver said the students knowingly broke the rules and attended the off-campus party and will be suspended for the rest of the fall quarter. They must also test for COVID-19 and face location restrictions until negative test results are received.
“We will continue to swiftly pursue disciplinary action if members of our community disregard the protocols and public health orders designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” Jeremy Haefner, chancellor of Denver University, said in a statement. “We can’t have anyone in our community believe they don’t need to abide by DU’s, the city’s or the state’s COVID-19 restrictions while the rest of the community is working so hard to have protocols in place intended to keep everyone safe and healthy.”
Haefner said there can be no large gatherings until COVID-19 is no longer a threat to the community. All gatherings are limited to 10 people or less.
Colorado has more than 70,000 diagnosed cases of coronavirus, with at least 2,051 deaths.
Oct 01, 7:00 am
North Carolina bars, movie theaters and amusement parks can reopen with restrictions
Bars, movie theaters, amusement parks and outdoor venues will be able to open this week in North Carolina as the state enters Phase 3 of its reopening plans, Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday.
Beginning Friday, large outdoor venues with more than 10,000 seats may operate with 7% capacity for spectators. Smaller venues may operate at 30% of outdoor capacity, Cooper said. Movie theaters, bars, conference centers and amusements can open to 30% capacity.
However, Cooper said the limits on mass gatherings will remain at 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors.
“I believe that North Carolina can do this safely. But so I am clear, every gathering carries the risk of spreading this disease,” Cooper said in a statement Wednesday. “Being safe means being smart and making sure others around you are doing the same.”
North Carolina has more than 210,000 diagnosed cases of COVID-19, with at least 3,532 deaths.
“Our top priority remains getting children back to in-person learning. This month marks a major shift for many families now and in the coming months as schools open their doors, some for the first time since the pandemic,” Cooper said. “The virus continues to spread, so we must take the next steps methodically, and responsibly.”
Oct 01, 6:10 am
Boston mayor blames college students for rise in COVID cases
Boston announced it is not entering the next phase of the Massachusetts reopening plans in the city after an increase in COVID-19 cases, which Mayor Marty Walsh put much of the blame on young people and college students who are ignoring public health regulations.
“We are seeing small outbreaks, due to parties, due to college students, due to quite honestly irresponsibility,” Walsh said during a press conference Wednesday.
Boston’s range of average daily COVID-19 cases was listed at 8.5 cases per 100,000, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which listed the city as possibly moving into the red category for COVID-19 risk.
Walsh said last week the city had a 2.7% infection rate — as of Wednesday it had jumped to 3.5%.
“Here we are today, laying down millions of dollars to open school, we have businesses on the verge of bankruptcy, we have restaurants that need to open up, we have art venues that need to open up, we need people that need to come back to work,” Walsh said during his press conference. “Do we have to shut down everything again?”
He said while young people are not the worst-affected for the coronavirus, that doesn’t mean it’s OK to not care about those living around you.
He said more than 9,000 Massachusetts residents that were alive six months ago are “not with us today.” More than 200,000 people in the U.S., he said, were living in America seven months ago but are not here now “not because of cancer not because of their age, because of the coronavirus.”
“This is a serious pandemic, this is a serious virus,” Walsh said. “If you’re 21 if you’re 19, and you get COVID, yeah the numbers say you’ll probably be ok, but what the numbers won’t say is your parents won’t be ok, your grandparents won’t be ok, your elderly neighbor next door won’t be ok.”
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