Coronavirus updates: Birx warns of 'troubling signs' in Northeast amid 'very different' spread of COVID-19
"What we did in the spring is not going to work in the fall," Birx said.
A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1 million people worldwide.
Over 36.7 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 7.6 million diagnosed cases and at least 213,570 deaths.
California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 847,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 811,000 cases and over 728,000 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.
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AstraZeneca getting $486M to develop, make monoclonal antibody cocktail
The U.S. government is giving AstraZeneca $486 million to develop and manufacture its monoclonal antibody cocktail.
The Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Defense announced the agreement with the pharmaceutical company on Friday.
AstraZeneca will launch two phase 3 trials to study its monoclonal antibodies as a way to prevent COVID-19 infection. The company is also in the middle of a phase 3 trial for a COVID-19 vaccine.
"In addition to Operation Warp Speed's historic progress on vaccines, we are supporting promising monoclonal antibodies for prevention and treatment all the way through to supply, allowing faster distribution if trials are successful," HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement.
Monoclonal antibodies are considered a "bridge" to a vaccine because they have the potential to work as both a treatment for people who are already sick and as short-term protection for those who have not yet been infected.
At least four large pharmaceutical companies are now in late-stage trials for monoclonal antibodies, including Regeneron, which makes the experimental monoclonal antibody cocktail President Donald Trump received on a compassionate use basis as part of his COVID-19 treatment.
ABC News' Chris Howell and Sony Salzman contributed to this report.
COVID-19 cases at school attended by Amy Coney Barrett's children
There have been positive tests for COVID-19 at the small private school in South Bend, Indiana, that some of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s children attend, Trinity School confirmed to ABC News.
The president of Trinity Schools, Jon Balsbaugh, declined to address specifics of the positive tests. A teacher and two students tested positive, according to The New York Times.
In a statement, Balsbaugh said that the school's coronavirus measures include a mix of remote and in-person learning, mask usage indoors and outdoors when social distancing cannot be maintained, daily health checks and temperature screenings, and "rigorous contract tracing protocols" in the event of a positive case.
Barrett brought her family to the White House last month when President Donald Trump announced her nomination to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Over a dozen attendees of the Sept. 26 Rose Garden event have since tested positive for COVID-19 in what Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, called a "superspreader event" in an interview with CBS News Radio on Friday.
ABC News' Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
Free school meals extended through end of school year
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said Friday that it's extending waivers that allow school meals to be free for all students through the rest of the 2020-2021 school year.
Schools will be able to continue providing meals to students who are not physically in school, including allowing parents to pick up meals at no cost.
“As our nation recovers and reopens, we want to ensure that children continue to receive the nutritious breakfasts and lunches they count on during the school year wherever they are, and however they are learning,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said in a statement.
ABC News’ Stephanie Ebbs contributed to this report.
New daily high number of cases worldwide, WHO says
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday announced a new record high of daily COVID-19 cases worldwide, according to The Associated Press.
WHO officials said 350,766 new cases were reported, which is a jump of almost 12,000 cases from the record set earlier in the week, according to the AP.
Analysis shows cases rising in 28 US states
An ABC News analysis of COVID-19 trends across all 50 U.S. states as well as Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico found there were increases in newly confirmed cases over the past two weeks in 28 states.
The analysis also found increases in the daily positivity rate of COVID-19 tests in 25 states, increases in COVID-19 hospitalizations in 35 states and increases in daily COVID-19 death tolls in 18 states plus Puerto Rico.
The seven-day average of new cases in the United States has now surpassed 44,000, the highest it has been since Aug. 21.
Two states -- Montana and South Dakota -- reported their highest single-day increases in the number of new COVID-19 cases. Seven states -- Arkansas, Iowa, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming -- hit a record number of current COVID-19 hospitalizations in a day.
Although figures in the Northeast still remain relatively low, the number of new cases continues to slowly increase, relative to the figures that were seen during the spring. The region's seven-day average of new cases is now the highest it has been since June 2. In the last month alone, that average has increased by more than 69%.
In the Midwest, the number of new cases continues to hit record levels, averaging 13,200 cases per day, largely driven by consistently high caseloads in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. The number of current COVID-19 hospitalizations in many midwestern states also continues to climb. Since Sunday, current hospitalizations in Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin have all hit record highs.
The number of new cases in the South remain significantly lower than they were throughout the summer. However, the South still contributes to more than 45% of the country's daily regional caseload, with an average of over 18,000 new cases per day.
Over the past three weeks, the number of new cases in the West has increased by 26%. Idaho and Utah still continue to produce high daily case totals. Although the figures in California are on a downward trend, the state continues to report a high number of new cases every day.
The trends were all analyzed from data collected and published by the COVID Tracking Project over the past two weeks, using the linear regression trend line of the seven-day moving average.
ABC News' Benjamin Bell, Brian Hartman, Soorin Kim and Arielle Mitropolous contributed to this report.
