Coronavirus updates: Hard-hit Wisconsin reports record high daily death toll

Hospitalizations have nearly tripled over the last month, the governor said.

ByMorgan Winsor and Emily Shapiro
Video byJessie DiMartino
Last Updated: October 21, 2020, 5:02 AM EDT

A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1 million people worldwide.

Over 37.9 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 7.8 million diagnosed cases and at least 215,549 deaths.

California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 858,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 821,000 cases and over 738,000 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 potential vaccines in late-stage trials, there are currently five that will be available in the United States if approved.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news developed today. All times Eastern.
Oct 13, 2020, 5:08 AM EDT

4 Vatican Swiss Guards test positive for COVID-19

Four members of the Vatican Swiss Guard have tested positive for COVID-19, according to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni.

The test results came in over the weekend and the four guards, who are showing symptoms, were placed in isolation.

"During these hours, the necessary checks are being carried out among those who may have been in direct contact with them," Bruni told reporters Monday. "In the meantime, in accordance with the provisions issued last week by the Governorate of Vatican City State, all the guards, whether on duty or not, wear masks, both outdoors and indoors, and observe the prescribed health measures."

PHOTO: A member of the Vatican Swiss Guard wearing a face mask stands guard by St. Peter's Basilica as it reopens in Vatican City on May 18, 2020, during the lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus.
A member of the Vatican Swiss Guard wearing a face mask stands guard by St. Peter's Basilica as it reopens in Vatican City on May 18, 2020, during the lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus. Four members of the Vatican Swiss Guard, the pope's colorfully-dressed personal protection force, have tested positive for COVID-19, a Vatican spokesman announced on Oct. 12, 2020.
Vincenzo Pinto/AFP via Getty Images

They are believed to be the first to test positive for the virus among the Vatican Swiss Guard, the elite, colorfully-dressed corps that protects the pope. It's unknown what direct contact -- if any -- the infected guards had with Pope Francis, who doesn't wear a mask at his general audiences or when meeting with worshippers, sometimes coming into relatively close contact to mingle and shake hands.

The COVID-19 infections among the four guards are in addition to three other positive cases discovered in recent weeks among residents and citizens of Vatican City, the tiny city-state surrounded by Rome that is home to the pontiff and serves as the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. All cases have mild symptoms and the necessary measures of isolation and contact tracing have been taken, according to Bruni.

ABC News' Phoebe Natanson contributed to this report.

Oct 13, 2020, 4:29 AM EDT

US reports more than 41,000 new cases

There were 41,653 new cases of COVID-19 identified in the United States on Monday, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

The latest daily tally is down by less than 3,000 from the previous day and falls well under the country’s record set on July 16, when there were 77,255 new cases in a 24-hour-reporting period.

An additional 317 coronavirus-related fatalities were also recorded Monday, down from a peak of 2,666 new fatalities reported on April 17.

A man wearing a face mask to protect against the novel coronavirus walks through the rain with an umbrella in New York City's Times Square on Oct. 12, 2020.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

A total of 7,804,336 people in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 215,086 of them have died, according to Johns Hopkins. The cases include people from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C. and other U.S. territories as well as repatriated citizens.

By May 20, all U.S. states had begun lifting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The day-to-day increase in the country's cases then hovered around 20,000 for a couple of weeks before shooting back up and crossing 70,000 for the first time in mid-July. The daily tally of new cases has gradually come down since then but has started to climb again in recent weeks.

Week-over-week comparisons show the number of new cases reported across the nation continues to go up, as does the usage of intensive care units, but the number of new deaths are down, according to an internal memo from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that was obtained by ABC News last week.

Related Topics