A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1 million people worldwide.
Over 38.8 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 217,721 deaths.
California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 866,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 836,000 cases and over 744,000 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.
Here's how the news developed today. All times Eastern.
Oct 15, 2020, 10:54 AM EDT
Hong Kong, Singapore announce forthcoming 'travel bubble'
Officials in Hong Kong and Singapore announced an agreement to establish a bilateral Air Travel Bubble in an effort to revive cross-border air travel between the two aviation hubs.
Citing low incidents of COVID-19 infections and 'robust' anti-transmission mechanisms, Singapore's Transport Minister Ong Ye said it is a "safe, careful but significant step forward to revive air travel, and provide a model for future collaboration with other parts of the world."
Hong Kong and Singapore are both major financial hubs, and the international air route between the two cities was among the busiest in the Asia-Pacific region before the pandemic took shape, officials said in a statement.
They did not offer details about a potential launch date.
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.
Oct 15, 2020, 10:05 AM EDT
Harris shuts down travel after 2 test positive
The Biden campaign has announced that two people traveling with Sen. Harris in Arizona, Communications Director Liz Allen, and a non-staff flight crew member, have tested positive for COVID-19
“Senator Harris was not in close contact, as defined by the CDC, with either of these individuals during the two days prior to their positive tests; as such, there is no requirement for quarantine," Jennifer O'Malley Dillon, Biden's campaign manager, said in a statement.
“Neither of these people have had contact with Vice President Biden, Senator Harris or any other staffers since testing positive or in the 48 hours prior to their positive test results," she added.
The campaign is canceling Harris' travel through Sunday "out of an abundance of caution and in line with our campaign's commitment to the highest levels of precaution."
Harris will return to in-person campaigning on Monday.
-ABC News' Molly Nagle contributed to this report.
Oct 15, 2020, 9:41 AM EDT
898,000 more Americans file for unemployment benefits
The U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday that another 898,000 people filed first-time jobless claims last week, highlighting how new layoffs are persisting at historical highs more than six months since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Last week's initial unemployment claims tally also shows a concerning spike of more than 53,000 compared to the previous week's revised figure.
The total number of people in the United States claiming state and federal unemployment benefits topped 25.2 million for the week ending Sept. 26. In comparison, 1.4 million people claimed benefits for the same week last year, according to the Labor Department.
The DC Department of Employment Services, which handles unemployment claims for DC residents, is seen in Washington, D.C, July 16, 2020.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
The U.S. states that saw the largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Oct. 3 were Florida, Illinois and Massachusetts. New Jersey, Kansas and Pennsylvania saw the largest decreases during that same time, the Labor Department said.
The level of new weekly unemployment claims has stagnated near the 850,000 mark for the past few weeks, a significant drop from when they peaked at 6.9 million in the last week of March. For context, the previous record for weekly unemployment claims was 695,000 in 1982 -- a record that has been shattered for 30 straight weeks in 2020.
ABC News' Catherine Thorbecke and Zunaira Zaki contributed to this report.
Oct 15, 2020, 8:50 AM EDT
Fauci sounds alarm over rising infections as winter nears
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top expert on the coronavirus pandemic, said the recent rise in COVID-19 infections across the United States is "concerning" as winter nears.
"We have a baseline of daily infections that are approximately 45-50,000 per day," Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a key member of the White House coronavirus task force, told ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos in an interview Thursday on "Good Morning America."
"The issue is as we enter -- as we are now -- into the cooler season of the fall and ultimately the colder season of the winter," he added, "you don't want to be in that compromised position where your baseline daily infection is high and you are increasing as opposed to going in the other direction."
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
Dozens of U.S. states are reporting upticks in COVID-19 test positivity rates, which Fauci said "has proven in the past to be a very good prediction of a surge in cases, which ultimately leads to a surge in hospitalizations."
"Then ultimately in some individuals, that obviously will be an increase in deaths," he added. "So we really got to double down on the fundamental public health measures that we talk about every single day, because they can make a difference."
Fauci, who said that his adult daughters won't be spending Thanksgiving with him and his wife this year due to concerns about spreading the virus, urged families to be careful during the upcoming holidays and evaluate both the risks and benefits of gathering indoors.
"It's up to the individuals and the choices they make," he said.
Supporters cheer as President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Des Moines International Airport in Des Moines, Iowa, on Oct. 14, 2020.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
When asked about President Donald Trump's packed campaign rallies, where many supporters are seen without face masks, Fauci said it's "a high-risk endeavor."
"I don't like to be pitted against what the president says, but it's so clear that when you have congregate settings and so many people, when you're in a situation when the community infection rate is there, you can't runaway from or argue with the numbers," he said.
