A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 852,000 people worldwide.
Over 25.5 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 6 million diagnosed cases and at least 184,270 deaths.
California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 713,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 633,000 cases and over 631,000 cases respectively.
Nearly 170 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 are being tracked by the World Health Organization, six of which are in crucial phase three trials.
Here's how the news is developing today. All times Eastern. Please refresh this page for updates.
Sep 01, 2020, 11:00 AM EDT
Alaska, Montana added to New York's travel advisory list
Alaska and Montana have been added to New York's travel advisory list, which requires people traveling to the Empire State from a high-coronavirus area to quarantine for two weeks, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday.
The states and territories currently on New York's list are: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Wisconsin.
The list applies to areas with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a one-week rolling average or areas with a 10% or higher positivity rate over a one-week rolling average.
New York was the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic in March and April, but of those tested across New York state on Monday, less than 1% were positive, Cuomo said.
New York currently has 109 coronavirus patients in ICUs -- the lowest number since March 15.
Sep 01, 2020, 9:27 AM EDT
White House reinstating public tours
White House public tours will resume on Sept. 12, though the number of visitors will be limited to 18% of the usual capacity, according to a Tuesday statement from the first lady's office.
Tours will also be cut down to two days per week instead of five days per week.
Everyone ages 2 and older must wear a face covering and practice social distancing.
Sep 01, 2020, 9:11 AM EDT
Bureau of Prisons resumes in-person visits
The Bureau of Prisons said Monday that it's resuming in-person visits at all 122 of its facilities, according to an internal memo obtained by ABC News.
"Social visiting will resume no later than Saturday, October 3, 2020," the memo said, adding that visiting will be non-contact only.
"Use of Plexiglas or a similar barrier between inmate and visitors will prevent any contact. In the alternative, if a barrier is not present, social distancing (i.e., 6 feet apart) between visitors and inmates must be enforced," the memo said.
Inmates and visitors must wear face coverings at all times.
Every inmate will be permitted two visits per month. Inmates in isolation or quarantine will not be allowed visits.
ABC News' Luke Barr contributed to this report.
Sep 01, 2020, 8:59 AM EDT
'We’re all on the same team,' Fauci says of Trump
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top medical expert on the coronavirus pandemic and a key member of the White House coronavirus task force, is weighing in on comments President Donald Trump made during a recent interview with Fox News.
Speaking to Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on Monday, Trump said he "inherited" Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and that he disagrees with “a lot” of what he says.
"I think when you get statements like that, that doesn’t really reflect what goes on," Fauci told ABC News' Amy Robach in an interview Tuesday on "Good Morning America." "I think that’s kind of a distraction to pit me against the president. We’re all on the same team."
Dr. Fauci appears on "Good Morning America," Sept. 1, 2020.
ABC News
Fauci also attempted to clarify new information released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which showed 94% of those who died from COVID-19 as of last week had underlying health conditions and contributing causes.
"The point the CDC was trying to make was that a certain percentage of them had nothing else but just COVID. That does not mean that someone who has hypertension or diabetes who dies of COVID didn’t die of COVID-19. They did," he said. "So the numbers that you’ve been hearing, the 180,000 plus deaths, are real deaths from COVID-19."
Trump, however, retweeted a conspiracy theory that suggested only 9,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States -- the original tweet has since been removed by Twitter.
"Let there not be any confusion about that. It’s not 9,000 deaths from COVID-19; it’s 180,000 plus deaths," Fauci added.
When asked about the CDC’s new guidelines on COVID-19 testing, Fauci admitted, "That did create some confusion."
"The way that sentence was said, it gave the impression that they’re not concerned about community spread and that people who are asymptomatic should not be tested," he said. "There’s no doubt that there are asymptomatic infection and that asymptomatic people can transmit and that you can and should test asymptomatic people."
"What the guideline was trying to do was to try to make the point that not everyone who wants to be tested should be tested; only if you need to be tested," he continued. "Understandably, that was confusing. Hopefully, that’s been straightened out now."
