A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1 million people worldwide.
Over 36.4 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 7.6 million diagnosed cases and at least 212,716 deaths.
California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 845,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 807,000 cases and over 726,000 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 in late-stage trials, there are currently five that will be available in the United States if approved.
Here's how the news developed today. All times Eastern.
Oct 08, 2020, 8:58 AM EDT
University of New Haven quarantines hundreds of students amid outbreak
Hundreds of students at the University of New Haven have been ordered to quarantine amid a COVID-19 outbreak on campus.
Since the start of the month, the private university in Connecticut has identified 24 positive cases of COVID-19, at least 19 of which were confirmed this week. In a letter to students Wednesday, university officials explained that a "critical mass" of those cases are clustered in the school's Winchester Hall dormitory, prompting them to impose a "full-building quarantine" until Oct. 20.
Currently, 280 students are being quarantined on campus and nearly 70 are quarantining off campus, according to the letter.
Students walk in the campus of the University of New Haven in an image posted to the University of New Haven's Instagram account.
University of New Haven/Instagram
"We must reverse this trend immediately," the letter said. "Candidly, much of this could have been avoided if everyone had followed the regulations in place."
Since the beginning of the fall semester, the university has investigated almost 300 reports of alleged COVID-19 policy violations and has handed down more than 150 disciplinary sanctions, ranging form warnings to housing suspensions.
"Any significant increase in cases could threaten our ability to continue on-campus operations or force us to, as other schools in Connecticut and across to country have had to do -- transition to completely online learning," the letter warned. "That is an outcome none of us want to see."
Oct 08, 2020, 7:43 AM EDT
Germany sees highest daily increase in cases since April
Germany confirmed 4,058 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, an increase of 1,230 from the previous day, marking the country's highest daily caseload since April.
An additional 16 coronavirus-related deaths were also recorded Wednesday. The cumulative total now stands at 310,144 cases with 9,578 deaths, according to the latest data from the country's public health institute.
People walk in front of a bar on a rainy night in Berlin, Germany, on Oct. 6, 2020. Authorities in the German capital have announced a limited nightly curfew to clamp down on rising COVID-19 infections.
Markus Schreiber/AP
The number of daily cases recorded in Germany reached almost 7,000 during the height of the pandemic at the end of March and in early April. Although the figures have fallen significantly since then, Germany's infections have been on the rise in recent months amid a second wave across Europe.
Earlier this week, the German government announced new curfews for bars, cafes, pubs and restaurants in the capital Berlin and financial hub Frankfurt, along with stricter rules on social gatherings.
Oct 08, 2020, 6:47 AM EDT
Analysis shows cases increasing in 32 US states
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.
The analysis also found increases in the daily positivity rate of COVID-19 tests in 25 states, increases in COVID-19 hospitalizations in 35 states and increases in daily COVID-19 death tolls in 19 states.
The seven-day average of new cases in the United States has now surpassed 43,000, the highest it has been since Aug. 22. Regionally, new cases are on the rise across the Northeast, the Midwest, the South and the West.
An early arriving fan waits for the Missouri State Bears vs. Oklahoma Sooners NCAA college football game to start, socially distanced from other seating areas, in Norman, Oklahoma, on Sept. 12, 2020. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, no fans are allowed in the first rows, only cut-outs.
Sue Ogrocki/Pool via Getty Images
One state -- Montana -- reported its highest single-day rise in the number of new COVID-19 cases. Seven states -- Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming -- hit a record number of current COVID-19 hospitalizations in a day.
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 08, 2020, 10:02 AM EDT
New cases and ICU usage on the rise in US, FEMA memo says
An internal memo from the Federal Emergency Management Agency obtained by ABC News on Wednesday night shows that the number of new COVID-19 cases recorded in the United States and the nationwide usage of intensive care units are both on the rise in week-over-week comparisons.
There were 306,965 new cases confirmed during the period of Sept. 30-Oct. 6, a 4.8% increase from the previous week. There were also 4,860 coronavirus-related fatalities recorded during the period of Sept. 30-Oct. 6, a 4.6% decrease compared with the week prior, according to the memo.
Meanwhile, the national positivity rate for COVID-19 tests increased from 4.5% to 5.4% in week-to-week comparisons. Currently, 23% of hospitals across the country have more than 80% of beds full in their intensive care units. That figure was 17-18% during the summertime peak, the memo said.
The memo, which is circulated to the highest levels of the federal government and is used to determine daily priorities for the agencies working on COVID-19 response, shows that 32 U.S. states and territories are in an upward trajectory of infections, while 8 jurisdictions are at a plateau and 16 others are in a downward trend.
Patrons dine at a restaurant in Winter Park, Florida, on Oct. 2, 2020. In his drive to return the state to normalcy, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis lifted limits on indoor seating at restaurants, saying they can operate at 100% in municipalities with no restrictions and that other local governments can't restrict indoor seating by more than 50%.
John Raoux/AP
In Florida, 75% of ICU beds statewide are occupied. The number of new COVID-19 deaths doubled in Duval County in week-to-week comparisons, while Sumter County recently reported a single-day positivity rate for COVID-19 tests of over 20%, according to the memo.
Kentucky reported its highest single-day rise in COVID-19 cases on Oct. 3. Nearly half of current cases in northern Kentucky are patients younger than 40, and approximately 40% of them are under 30. The total number of COVID-19 hospitalizations has been increasing statewide since the end of September, the memo said.
The seven-day COVID-19 hospitalization rate continues to rise in Minnesota, reaching its highest since June 1 at 9.8 per 100,000 population, according to the memo.
A poll worker wearing personal protective equipment directs voters to cast their ballots for the upcoming presidential election as early voting begins in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Oct. 6, 2020.
Megan Jelinger/Reuters
In Ohio, the number of new COVID-19 cases has more than doubled in Muskingum County between the weeks ending Sept. 27 and Oct. 4. Outbreaks have been discovered at four social clubs there, according to the memo.
Wisconsin's seven-day COVID-19 death rate has increased 139% from Sept. 27 to Oct. 4. The seven-day COVID-19 hospitalization rate also continues to climb, with Wisconsin reporting a peak of 16.4 per 100,000 population on Oct. 4. The state saw a record high of 782 COVID-19 hospitalizations on Oct. 5, more than double the amount a month earlier. As of Oct. 4, 84% of ICU beds statewide were in use. Local health departments in the counties of Fox Valley, Door and Manitowoc report seeing so many new cases that they are unable to conduct tests or contact tracing in a timely manner, the memo said.
ABC News' Josh Margolin contributed to this report.
