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Coronavirus news: Fauci details lesser-publicized side effects of COVID-19

"A disturbing number of individuals" were found to have heart inflammation.

ByWilliam Mansell and Emily Shapiro
Video byJessie DiMartino
Last Updated: September 24, 2020, 6:12 AM EDT

A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 973,000 people worldwide.

Over 31.7 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 6.9 million diagnosed cases and at least 201,617 deaths.

California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 794,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 741,000 cases and over 690,000 cases, respectively.

Nearly 170 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 are being tracked by the World Health Organization, at least six of which are in crucial phase three trials.

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Here's how the news developed today. All times Eastern.
Sep 23, 2020, 3:32 PM EDT

20 times more likely to catch COVID-19 indoors than outdoors: Study

Dr. Blythe Adamson, a former member of the White House coronavirus task force, told "GMA3" on Wednesday, "One of things that we just learned recently -- and published in a new study today in Clinical and Infectious Diseases -- is that being indoors, you're 20 times more likely to catch COVID from an infectious person than if you were around them outdoors."

Guests sit at a table set up on a dance floor for social distancing at Lucky Day bar on Sept. 21, 2020, in Las Vegas.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Adamson is now adviser to Testing for America, a nonprofit established to help solve the testing crisis.

Adamson stressed that the U.S. must "be flexible and adapt, so as we learn more about the science, we're willing to change our public policies so that they match the best science."

"There's a lot of work for us to continue to do over the next couple of months. As we move forward into flu season, it's even more important that we're able to distinguish between a viral infection that's from influenza or coronavirus," she said.

Sep 23, 2020, 1:02 PM EDT

Redfield stands by his timeline that most Americans will be vaccinated by summer 2021

While testifying at a Senate hearing Wednesday, Robert Redfield stood by his timeline on when most Americans would be vaccinated. He said the expectation is that millions of doses will be ready by April and that it could take until summer 2021 to get the vaccine to most Americans.

“I think that’s going to take us to April, May, June, possibly July to get the entire American public completely vaccinated," said Redfield, director of the CDC.

Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, testifies during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Hearing to examine COVID-19, focusing on an update on the federal response at the Capitol in Washington, Sept. 23, 2020.
Pool/Reuters

When Dr. Anthony Fauci testified he said that about 50 million doses of all the viable vaccine candidates will be available in November, and more in December, and that those doses will be prioritized to health care providers and vulnerable populations.

ABC News' Stephanie Ebbs contributed to this report.

Sep 23, 2020, 11:11 AM EDT

Fauci: 'Disturbing number' of COVID-19 patients have heart inflammation

At a Senate hearing on COVID-19, Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday addressed some lesser-publicized side effects seen among some COVID-19 "long-haulers": heart inflammation and cognitive abnormalities.

"A disturbing number of individuals" who have recovered from COVID-19 and "apparently are asymptomatic," "when they have sensitive imaging technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging or MRI," they're found to "have inflammation of the heart," Fauci said.

Fauci also said a symptom among COVID-19 "long-haulers" is "cognitive abnormalities," like the inability to concentrate.

"These are the kinds of things that tell us we must be humbled that we do not completely understand the nature of this illness,” stressed Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

PHOTO: Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies at a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Sept. 23, 2020, in Washington.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies at a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Sept. 23, 2020, in Washington. The committee is examining the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Pool/Getty Images

Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), also testified Wednesday, noting that young people -- 18 to 25 year olds -- are making up 26% of new infections.

ABC News' Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.

Sep 23, 2020, 6:54 AM EDT

Navajo Nation reinstates stay-at-home order

As COVID-19 cases rise, the Navajo Nation is re-issuing a strict stay-at-home order and a 57-hour weekend lockdown. The increase in cases is in the Sage Memorial Hospital service area in Arizona and in satellite chapters in the Eastern Navajo Agency.

Many of these new cases are a result of family gatherings and people traveling to areas outside of the Navajo Nation and returning with the virus, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said in a statement.

"These new cluster cases are very troubling because we do not yet know the extent to which these individuals came into contact with people in the general public,” Nez said Tuesday.

The lockdown begins at 8 p.m. on Sept. 25 and ends at 5 a.m. on Sept. 28. There is also a daily curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays.

The Navajo Nation previously implemented public health emergency orders that restricted in-person gatherings and traveling off the Nation.

“We have told our people repeatedly that there remains substantial risk if you choose to travel off the Nation and hold family gatherings. Cities and towns near the Navajo Nation continue to see large increases in daily COVID-19 cases. It only takes a few positive cases to lead to another surge and we all know that our health care system cannot handle another large surge," Nez said.

As of Sept. 22, there have been more than 10,000 COVID-19 cases in the Navajo Nation, with at least 548 deaths.