Coronavirus updates: Over 7,000 Americans died in past week

The increase comes less than two weeks after Halloween.

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Ivan Pereira, and Meredith Deliso
Video byJessie DiMartino
Last Updated: November 18, 2020, 4:38 AM EST

A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1.3 million people worldwide.

Over 53.2 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 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. The criteria for diagnosis -- through clinical means or a lab test -- has also varied from country to country.

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 nation, with more than 10.7 million diagnosed cases and at least 244,283 deaths.

Nearly 200 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. All times Eastern.
Nov 12, 2020, 2:02 PM EST

Germany, Greece report record case increases

Germany's Robert Koch Institut reported a record one-day increase of 21,866 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing Germany's total to over 727,000 people diagnosed.

Lothar Wieler, president of the RKI, warned, "it is possible that patients may no longer be able to receive optimal care."

People walk past stalls at the cancelled annual Christmas market during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic on Nov. 12, 2020, in Essen, Germany.
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Greece's National Public Health Organization also reported a record increase in new cases and fatalities on Thursday. Greece has over 66,000 people diagnosed and at least 959 deaths.

PHOTO: Medical workers wearing personal protective equipment prepare to perform a tracheotomy on a patient in the ICU of the George Papanikolaou General Hospital, during the coronavirus disease pandemic in Thessaloniki, Greece, Nov. 11, 2020.
Medical workers wearing personal protective equipment prepare to perform a tracheotomy on a patient at the intensive care unit of the George Papanikolaou General Hospital, during the coronavirus disease pandemic in Thessaloniki, Greece, Nov. 11, 2020.
Alexandros Avramidis/Reuters

Health workers wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus, take part in a protest at Evangelismos hospital in Athens, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020.
Thanassis Stavrakis/AP

Italy's Civil Protection Agency reported 37,978 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the nation's total to 1,066,401. There were 636 new fatalities, bringing Italy's death toll to 43,589.

ABC News' Christine Theodorou contributed to this report

Nov 12, 2020, 1:16 PM EST

Corey Lewandowski tests positive

Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a person briefed on the diagnosis. 

Lewandowski tested positive for the virus on Wednesday. He has been in Philadelphia this week as the Trump campaign continues to bring lawsuits related to the election results.

PHOTO: President Donald Trump's campaign advisor Corey Lewandowski, center, speaks about a court order obtained to grant more access to vote counting operations at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Nov. 5, 2020, in Philadelphia.
President Donald Trump's campaign advisor Corey Lewandowski, center, speaks about a court order obtained to grant more access to vote counting operations at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Nov. 5, 2020, in Philadelphia. At right is former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Matt Slocum/AP

Lewandowski was among 400 attendees at an indoor election night party at the White House. Many attendees were not wearing masks or social distancing, including chief of staff Mark Meadows, who also tested positive in the days after the event.

Jeff Miller, a lobbyist and longtime Republican political strategist, has also tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a person familiar with the diagnosis. Miller was also at the election night party at the White House.

At least 15 people in President Donald Trump's orbit have tested positive for COVID-19 since Meadows' diagnosis last Wednesday.

Richard Walters, the chief of staff for the Republican National Committee, has also tested positive for COVID-19, according to an RNC official.

"The RNC is following CDC guidance and notifying staff who came in contact with him," the official said.

Walters has not been to the White House recently.

ABC News' Katherine Faulders contributed to this report

Nov 12, 2020, 12:30 PM EST

NYC 'preparing' to close schools if positivity rate climbs over 3%

New York City is "preparing" to temporarily close schools immediately if the citywide seven-day positivity rate climbs over 3%, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

The seven-day positivity now stands at 2.6%.

Elementary school students are welcomed back to P.S. 188 as the city's public schools open for in-person learning on Sept. 29, 2020, in New York City.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

While noting there is an "unbelievably low level of transmission in our schools," the mayor nonetheless said the city "will move immediately, the next day schools will be shut down."

"No one wants to see that happen," he said. "There is still a chance to turn that around. But we are preparing for that possibility."

ABC News' Aaron Katersky contributed to this report

Nov 12, 2020, 11:02 AM EST

New tool shows COVID-19 risk anywhere in the US in real time

Worried about COVID-19 this Thanksgiving?

You can calculate the risk level of being exposed to the virus while attending a gathering, given the event size and location, through a new tool developed by the Georgia Institute of Technology.

The COVID-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool is a free, interactive, peer-reviewed, online dashboard that estimates the risk that at least one individual infected with COVID-19 is present in gatherings of different sizes throughout the United States and, increasingly, around the globe.

The tool allows users to adjust the size of the event and hover their cursor over a map of the United States to see the current risk level by county. For example, as of Thursday, there is a 93% chance of being exposed to COVID-19 at a dinner of 15 people in South Dakota's virus-hit Dewey County.

ABC News' Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.

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