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, 10:09 AM EDT
COVID-19 hospitalizations reach record high in Oklahoma
The number of current hospitalizations in Oklahoma due to COVID-19 has soared to a new record one-day high.
The Oklahoma State Department of Health on Wednesday reported 738 people hospitalized with either confirmed or possible cases of the disease.
Since the start of the pandemic, at least 94,352 people in Oklahoma have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and 1,075 of them have died, according to the state health department data.
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.
