Coronavirus updates: Barron Trump also tested positive for COVID, Melania says

Melania Trump said she and her son have now tested negative.

ByMorgan Winsor and Julia Jacobo
Video byJessie DiMartino
Last Updated: October 21, 2020, 5:01 AM EDT

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

Over 38.4 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 7.9 million diagnosed cases and at least 216,639 deaths.

California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 865,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 830,000 cases and over 741,000 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 14, 2020, 5:27 AM EDT

New cases in US rise by double digits in week-over-week comparisons

The number of new COVID-19 cases recorded in the United States increased by double digits in week-over-week comparisons, while the number of new deaths from the disease continued to tick downward slightly, according to an internal memo from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that was obtained by ABC News on Tuesday night.

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, said 34 U.S. states and territories are in an upward trajectory of new infections, while 10 jurisdictions are at a plateau and 12 others are in a downward trend.

There were 351,270 new cases confirmed during the period of Oct. 6-Oct. 12, a 14.4% increase from the previous week. There were also 4,886 fatalities from COVID-19 recorded during the same period, a 1.5% decrease compared with the week prior. The national positivity rate for COVID-19 tests increased from 4.7% to 6.1% in week-to-week comparisons, according to the memo.

Meanwhile, 22% of hospitals nationwide have more than 80% of beds full in their intensive care units. That figure was 17-18% during the summertime peak, the memo said.

PHOTO: A sign advising face masks being required is posted as people walk inside Bob's Pumpkin Patch in Half Moon Bay, California, on Oct. 12, 2020.
A sign advising face masks being required is posted as people walk inside Bob's Pumpkin Patch in Half Moon Bay, California, on Oct. 12, 2020. Ten California counties were cleared to ease COVID-19 restrictions, including some in the Central Valley that saw major case spikes over the summer, but the state's top health official warned that upcoming Halloween celebrations pose a risk for renewed spread.
Jeff Chiu/AP

California's Sonoma County saw a 129.7% relative increase in new cases of COVID-19 between Sept. 29 and Oct. 6. The county confirmed 62 cases on Oct. 7 linked to outbreaks at schools and childcare facilities, according to the memo.

Kentucky reported on Oct. 7 its highest number of COVID-19 patients in ICUs since May. As of Oct. 6, the state's seven-day average for ICU bed occupancy was 80.6%, with 43.7% of adult ICU beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, the memo said.

Montana hit a peak of 504 new COVID-19 cases confirmed on Oct. 6. Daily hospital admissions in the state have increased from 40 in mid-September to more than 60 per day, with greater than 80 on Oct. 5 and Oct. 6. Montana's seven-day hospitalization rate continues to rise from 15.7 per 100,000 population on sept. 29 to a four-month high of 20 per 100,000 population on Oct. 6. Local officials report that hospitals are closed to or at capacity and have started redirecting patients, according to the memo.

People wait on line outside a COVID-19 testing site that provides priority testing for New York City Department of Education staff through NYC Health + Hospitals on Fort Hamilton Parkway in Brooklyn's Borough Park neighborhood on Oct. 7, 2020.
John Minchillo/AP

New Jersey's seven-day COVID-19 case rate increased 20.6% to 539.5 cases per 1 million population between Sept. 29 and Oct. 6. The state has 71.7% of inpatient hospital beds occupied, with 56.4% of ICU beds full. At least 100 schools in New Jersey have teachers or students who have tested positive for COVID-19, the memo said.

New York recorded on Oct. 6 its highest number of total hospitalizations since July 22. The state has 79.5% of inpatient hospital beds occupied, with 62.4% of ICU beds full.

Utah reported more than 1,000 COVID-19 cases per day for six of the seven days last week. At the same time, week-to-week testing in the state has decreased slightly by 1.2%. Utah's positivity rate for COVID-19 tests, however, has remained stable at 14%.

ABC News' Josh Margolin contributed to this report.

Oct 14, 2020, 4:26 AM EDT

US reports more than 52,000 new cases

There were 52,406 new cases of COVID-19 identified in the United States on Tuesday, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

The latest daily tally is up by nearly 11,000 from the previous day but still falls under the country’s record set on July 16, when there were 77,255 new cases in a 24-hour-reporting period.

An additional 802 coronavirus-related fatalities were also recorded Tuesday, up by more than 400 from the previous day but down from a peak of 2,666 new fatalities reported on April 17.

PHOTO: A nursing assistant (right) hands over a funnel and vial for a saliva test, which tests for COVID-19, to motorist at a drive-thru testing site in the parking lot of UW Health Administrative Office Building in Middleton, Wisconsin, on Oct. 5, 2020.
Nursing assistant Monica Brodsky (right) hands over a funnel and vial for a saliva test, which tests for COVID-19, to Janet Legare, of Middleton, Wisconsin, at a drive-thru testing site in the parking lot of the UW Health Administrative Office Building in Middleton, Wisconsin, on Oct. 5, 2020. A surge of COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin and the Dakotas is forcing a scramble for hospital beds and raising political tensions, as the Upper Midwest and Plains emerge as one of the nation's most troubling hotspots.
Amber Arnold/Wisconsin State Journal via AP

A total of 7,858,344 people in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 215,910 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.

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