A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1 million people worldwide.
Over 33.8 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 7.2 million diagnosed cases and at least 206,905 deaths.
California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 819,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 770,000 cases and over 706,000 cases, respectively.
Nearly 190 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 are being tracked by the World Health Organization, at least nine of which are in crucial phase three trials.
Here is how the news is developing today. All times Eastern.
Sep 30, 2020, 11:48 AM EDT
Steelers-Titans game rescheduled to allow time for more COVID-19 tests
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans game, originally set for Sunday, will be rescheduled to allow more time for daily COVID-19 testing, the NFL said Wednesday.
ESPN reported that four Titans players and five team personnel members tested positive for COVID-19 this week.
The game will be played on Monday or Tuesday, the NFL said in a statement.
The Minnesota Vikings, who played the Titans over the weekend, have not reported any COVID-19 cases, an NFL spokesperson told ESPN.
Sep 30, 2020, 11:44 AM EDT
Fauci sets record straight on masks after presidential debate
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says President Donald Trump's claims on Fauci's stance on masks were "taken out of context" at Tuesday's presidential debate.
During the debate Trump claimed Fauci initially said "masks are not good. Then he changed his mind."
When Democratic nominee Joe Biden said if all Americans wore masks, and social-distanced between now and January, 100,000 lives could be saved, Trump responded, "Dr. Fauci said the opposite."
Setting the record straight, Fauci told ABC News' "Start Here" podcast, "Very early on in the pandemic … there was a shortage of PPE and masks for health care providers who needed them desperately since they were putting their lives and their safety on the line every day. So the feeling was that people who were wanting to have masks in the community, namely just people out in the street, might be hoarding masks and making the shortage of masks even greater. In that context, we said that we did not recommend masks."
Anthony Fauci, director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at NIH, testifies at a Senate Health, Education, and Labor and Pensions Committee on Capitol Hill, Sept. 23, 2020, in Washington.
Graeme Jennings/Pool via Getty Images, FILE
In the weeks that followed, Fauci said, "it became clear that they worked. Number two: it became clear that cloth coverings worked as well as surgical masks, so the idea of a shortage of masks that would take it away from those who really need it was no longer there because anybody could get a mask."
Students wearing masks walk to school in the Kensington neighborhood, Sept. 29, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York.
Mark Lennihan/AP
Then, as scientists learned more from the data available, Fauci said they learned: "One: that about 40-45% of all the infections were among individuals who had no symptoms, namely asymptomatic infection. No. 2: it became clear that transmissions, a substantial proportion of them, are transmitted by people without symptoms. So then all of a sudden, it became clear that you would not know if you were infected or if the person that you were dealing with was infected. And at that point, it became clear that A: no shortage of masks, B: data now prove that masks work and 3: there clearly is asymptomatic transmission."
"At that point, which is now months and months ago, I have been on the airways, on the radio, on TV, begging people to wear masks. And I keep talking in the context of wear a mask, keep physical distance, avoid crowds, wash your hands and do things more outdoors versus indoors," Fauci said. "The other thing that became clear is, in fact, that there was likely a degree of aerosol transmission which make it even more compelling to wear a mask. So anybody who has been listening to me over the last several months know that a conversation does not go by where I do not strongly recommend that people wear masks."
ABC News' Brad Mielke and David Rind contributed to this report.
Sep 30, 2020, 11:42 AM EDT
Indoor dining begins in New York City as some neighborhoods see uptick in cases
Indoor dining begins in New York City on Wednesday, and Mayor Bill de Blasio said the nine zip codes in Brooklyn and Queens seeing upticks in cases will be the focus of city health inspectors.
Signs indicating a table has been cleaned are propped up on a table of a restaurant in New York, Sept. 29, 2020. Although indoor dining opens in New York on Sept. 30, some smaller restaurants will still rely heavily on outdoor seating.
Kathy Willens/AP
"We will be looking carefully to make sure every restaurant is following the rules," the mayor said. "If we see the kinds of violations that create problems -- like employees not wearing a mask or a violation of the 25% limit, or alcohol being consumed at a bar -- those are the kind of things that will lead to immediate summonses."
“We certainly don’t want to see restaurants shut down, but we need to be very rigorous everywhere in the city, particularly in those zip codes,” de Blasio said.
On Wednesday 354 new daily COVID-19 cases were reported in the city and 87 people were admitted to hospitals.
New York City’s daily positive test rate in the last 24 hours stands at .94%. The seven-day rolling average positivity rate is at 1.46%.
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
Sep 30, 2020, 10:28 AM EDT
Canada reports sharp rise in cases
Canada's daily COVID-19 case count has reached a level not seen since the peak of daily cases in April, Canada's chief public-health official Dr. Theresa Tam said on Wednesday.
"This increases the latest 7-day average to 1,471 cases reported daily across Canada," Tam tweeted.
Most of the cases now are among younger people, she said.
People line up to take a COVID-19 test at a testing center in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Sept. 24, 2020.
Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images
Hospitalizations have been rising over the last few weeks in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia, she said.
"Things have escalated quickly and will escalate further unless we work together to #SlowtheSpread," Tam warned.
Canada has over 159,000 people diagnosed with COVID-19. At least 9,340 people in the country have died, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
ABC News’ Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.
