Coronavirus updates: Chris Christie speaks out after contracting COVID-19
The former New Jersey governor spoke to ABC News exclusively.
A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1 million people worldwide.
Over 38.9 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 217,700 deaths.
California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 868,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 837,000 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.
Latest headlines:
US passes 8 million cases
There are currently 8,008,042 COVID-19 cases and 218,097 deaths in the United States.
Denver limits social gathering to 5 people
In reaction to a growing positivity rate, Denver health officials are reducing the social gathering limit from 10 to five people. Additionally, people must wear their face mask when outside and walking with others from outside their household.
The new restrictions are only for Denver County and not the rest of the state.
As of Friday, Colorado has 81,895 COVID-19 cases and 2,162 deaths, as per John Hopkins University data. Denver has 15,383 confirmed cases, and has had 440 deaths.
New England Patriots cancel practice after positive COVID-19 test
The Patriots are canceling their Friday practice after a positive COVID-19 test, per a source. There is also a second test they are awaiting to confirm is a positive, ESPN reported.
Indianapolis Colts open for practice after 4 players re-test negative
The Indianapolis Colts will reopen their practice facility Friday after four individuals' re-tests for COVID-19 confirmed they were negative, the team announced.
The team closed their facility Friday morning after initial positive tests. They involved one player and three staff members, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Indianapolis is scheduled to have a home game Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
"After consultation with the NFL and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Allen Sills, the team will open the practice facility this afternoon under the league's intensive protocol and will continue preparation for Sunday's game against Cincinnati," the team's statement said.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. ABC News' Joshua Hoyos contributed to this report.
Germany sees highest single-day increase in infections
Germany confirmed 7,334 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, its highest single-day increase since the start of the pandemic.
It's the first time Germany has surpassed 7,000 COVID-19 cases in a single day, and it marks the second straight day that the country has broken its own record for the daily tallies.
An additional 24 deaths from COVID-19 were also registered Thursday. The cumulative totals now stands at 348,557 cases and 9,734 deaths, according to the latest data from the country’s public health institute.
Until this week, Germany’s highest recorded figure was nearly 6,300 cases on March 28, according to data published by the Robert Koch Institute. While testing has increased since then, the country is among several in Europe that have seen a sharp uptick in COVID-19 infections in recent weeks.
Earlier this week, Germany's federal and state governments agreed to toughen rules on wearing face masks and to have bars close early in areas where infections are high.
