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Coronavirus updates: Trump says 'not much' he'd change about COVID response

Thirty-one states are considered in the red zone for new cases in the last week.

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, and Ivan Pereira
Video byJessie DiMartino
Last Updated: October 21, 2020, 8:09 AM EDT

A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1.1 million people worldwide.

Over 40.7 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 8.2 million diagnosed cases and at least 220,955 deaths.

California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 883,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 862,000 cases and over 760,000 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 is developing today. All times Eastern.
Oct 20, 2020, 9:40 AM EDT

Russia reports over 16,000 new cases for 1st time

Russia confirmed another 16,319 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, its highest single-day tally yet.

It's the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic that Russia's daily case count has exceeded 16,000.

More than 30% of the newly confirmed cases -- 4,999 -- were reported in the capital, Moscow, according to Russia's coronavirus response headquarters.

An additional 269 deaths from COVID-19 were also registered nationwide in the past 24 hours, just under last week's peak of 286. The cumulative totals now stand at 1,431,635 cases and 24,635 deaths, according to Russia's coronavirus response headquarters, which noted that the current growth rate in infections is 1.2%

Fourth-grade students attend a physical education class at school in Moscow, Russia, on Oct. 20, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Pavel Golovkin/AP

Although Russia has been breaking its own records for daily case counts and deaths almost every day since Oct. 9, authorities there are resisting shutting down businesses again. Few measures have been imposed in Moscow, the epicenter of the country's COVID-19 outbreak and recent surge.

The Eastern European country of 145 million people has the fourth-highest tally of COVID-19 cases in the world, behind only the United States, India and Brazil, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

ABC News' Alina Lobzina contributed to this report.

Oct 20, 2020, 8:21 AM EDT

UK to launch controversial vaccine trials where volunteers will be infected

In a bid to speed up the race to find a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, the U.K. government announced Tuesday morning that it will be launching some controversial vaccine studies known as challenge trials.

In a world first for COVID-19, young healthy volunteers will be vaccinated, then intentionally exposed to the potentially deadly virus in order to test vaccines in a controlled environment. Although some medical experts view them as ethically questionable, the benefit of challenge trials is that they can be completed in a much shorter timeframe than typical late-stage studies.

A medical syringe is inserted into a small bottle labeled "Vaccine COVID-19" in this illustration taken April 10, 2020.
Dado Ruvic/Reuters

The experiment will take place in a quarantine ward of a hospital in north London. After inhaling a diluted dose of the virus, the trial participants will be closely monitored, thus enabling scientists and doctors to better understand the disease and how a vaccine can fight it.

"Human challenge studies can increase our understanding of COVID-19 in unique ways and accelerate development of the many potential new COVID-19 treatments and vaccines," said Dr. Chris Chiu of Imperial College London's Department of Infectious Disease, a lead researcher on the human challenge study.

ABC News' Zoe Magee contributed to this report.

Oct 20, 2020, 8:08 AM EDT

Italy's hard-hit Lombardy region to impose curfew

The Italian region that was once the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic will soon impose a nightly curfew, following a sharp rise in infections.

A curfew from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. local time is expected to begin in Italy's northern Lombardy region on Thursday night and last until at least Nov. 13. All residents must stay home during this period, unless for reasons of health, work or necessity. Non-food shops and retail centers will also be shut on weekends.

Lombardy's regional government received authorization on Monday from Italian Health Minister Robert Speranza to implement more restrictive measures.

People sit in an almost empty restaurant in front of the Duomo di Milano in Milan, Italy, on Oct. 20, 2020.
Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images

The move comes after Italy reported 10,010 new cases of COVID-19 last Friday, the country's highest daily tally since the start of its outbreak, shattering a previous record of 8,804 set last Thursday. Lombardy had the greatest number of cases of any other region that day, at 2,419.

Overall, Italy has confirmed at least 423,578 cases with 36,616 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to the latest data from the country's civil protection agency.

ABC News' Phoebe Natanson contributed to this report.

Oct 20, 2020, 6:58 AM EDT

Columbian cyclist Fernando Gaviria tests positive for 2nd time this year

Colombian cyclist Fernando Gaviria has been withdrawn from the Giro d’Italia after testing positive for COVID-19, his team said in a statement Tuesday.

It's the second time Gaviria has tested positive for the disease, after contracting it in March.

All other riders and staff members on Gaviria’s UAE Team Emirates had negative test results but will be tested again Tuesday.

"Gaviria was immediately isolated following the test result and is feeling well and is completely asymptomatic," the team said in the statement.

PHOTO: Columbian cyclist Fernando Gaviria wears a face mask to protect against the novel coronavirus as he attends the 13th stage of the Giro d'Italia race, from Cervia to Monselice, Italy, on Oct. 16, 2020.
Columbian cyclist Fernando Gaviria wears a face mask to protect against the novel coronavirus as he attends the 13th stage of the Giro d'Italia race, from Cervia to Monselice, Italy, on Oct. 16, 2020. Gaviria is the latest cyclist to test positive for COVID-19 and be withdrawn from this year's Giro d'Italia.
Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP

Gaviria, who has won five stages at the Giro d'Italia during his career, is not the first to withdraw from the annual road cycling stage race due to COVID-19. Dutch rider Steven Kruijswijk, Britain's Simon Yates and Australia's Michael Matthews were all forced to pull out last week after testing positive.

The Giro d'Italia, the second Grand Tour of 2020 after the Tour de France took pace between August and September, kicked off on Oct. 3 after initially being postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The race concludes on Oct. 25.

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