Coronavirus updates: Virus can linger in air for hours, CDC says

The CDC posted new guidance on its website warning people about airborne spread.

ByMorgan Winsor and Ivan Pereira
Video byJessie DiMartino
Last Updated: October 6, 2020, 5:32 AM EDT

A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1 million people worldwide.

Over 35.3 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 7.4 million diagnosed cases and at least 210,013 deaths.

California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 833,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 791,000 cases and over 717,000 cases, respectively.

More than 190 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 are being tracked by the World Health Organization, at least seven of which are in crucial phase three trials.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news developed today. All times Eastern.
Oct 05, 2020, 8:26 AM EDT

10% of world population may have been infected, WHO says

The head of emergencies at the World Health Organization said Monday that "best estimates" indicate roughly 1 in 10 people worldwide may have been infected by the novel coronavirus.

"The vast majority of the world remains at risk," Dr. Michael Ryan told a meeting of the WHO's 34-member executive board, noting that the figures vary from rural to urban areas and between different groups.

Based on the current world population, that estimate would amount to more than 760 million infected individuals -- well over the 35 million diagnosed cases of COVID-19 tallied worldwide by both the WHO and Johns Hopkins University.

"We are now heading into a difficult period," Ryan warned.

Oct 05, 2020, 7:32 AM EDT

Russia records highest single-day spike in cases since May

Russia confirmed 10,888 new cases of COVID-19 over the last 24 hours, the country’s highest single-day increase since May 12.

An additional 117 coronavirus-related deaths were also recorded in the past day, according to Russia’s coronavirus response headquarters.

The country's cumulative total now stands at 1,225,889 confirmed cases and 21,475 deaths.

A couple wearing face masks to protect against the novel coronavirus walks in central Moscow, Russia, on Oct. 4, 2020.
Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images

More than 32% of the newly confirmed cases -- 3,527 -- were registered in the capital, Moscow.

It's the first time in almost four months that Russia has reported over 10,000 new cases in a day. The country's COVID-19 outbreak has started to grow following the summer holidays, with many restrictions lifted and social distancing guidance disregarded.

ABC News' Alina Lobzina contributed to this report.

Oct 05, 2020, 6:32 AM EDT

India registers over 74,000 new cases

India confirmed another 74,442 new cases of COVID-19 and 1,039 fatalities in the past 24 hours.

The country's cumulative total now stands at 6,623,815 confirmed cases with 102,685 deaths, according to the latest data from the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

A health worker (left) waits to collect swab samples from residents to test for the COVID-19 at a government primary health center on the outskirts of Hyderabad, India, on Oct. 5, 2020.
Noah Seelam/AFP via Getty Images

India is only the second country to surpass 6 million total cases, after the United States. The vast country of 1.3 billion people has the highest COVID-19 infection rate of anywhere in the world, although it is now on a downward trend. The number of active COVID-19 cases in India has remained below 1 million for the last two weeks.

India also has the highest number of recovered COVID-19 patients in the world, with more than 5.5 million people who have survived the disease. The country's recovery rate stands at 84%, according to the health ministry.

Oct 05, 2020, 5:47 AM EDT

Paris and its suburbs will move to 'maximum alert zone'

French Prime Minister Jean Castex has ordered Paris and its inner suburbs to be placed on maximum COVID-19 alert with new restrictions due to rising cases.

Castex's office told Agence France-Presse on Sunday that the French capital had "crossed the three thresholds corresponding to the maximum alert zone several days ago and this trend was confirmed over the weekend."

The restrictive measures, which will be laid out at a press conference with the city's mayor Monday morning, will come into force on Tuesday and will last for two weeks. Being put on the highest level of alert means bars will be forced to close during that time and restaurants will have to impose new sanitary protocols in order to stay open.

A woman wearing a face mask walks past a closed restaurant in Paris, France, on Oct. 5, 2020, before the announcement of reinforced restrictions due to rising COVID-19 cases.
Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters

The move comes after bars and restaurants in the French port city of Marseille and nearby Aix-en-Provence were ordered to shut their doors last week as the number of COVID-19 infections climbed. The businesses are allowed to reopen this week, in accordance with a reinforced sanitary protocol.

France is not the only country seeing a resurgence in COVID-19 cases. Other European nations including Spain and the United Kingdom are also grappling with growing outbreaks.

Since the start of the pandemic, France's public health agency has confirmed more than 619,000 cases with at least 32,230 deaths.

ABC News' Ibtissem Guenfoud contributed to this report.

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