Coronavirus updates: Fauci calls 'herd immunity' declaration 'ridiculous'

"This idea that we have the power to protect the vulnerable is total nonsense."

ByMorgan Winsor and Karma Allen
Video byJessie DiMartino
Last Updated: October 21, 2020, 5:00 AM EDT

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

Over 38.8 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 7.9 million diagnosed cases and at least 217,721 deaths.

California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 866,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 836,000 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:

Here's how the news developed today. All times Eastern.
Oct 15, 2020, 4:45 AM EDT

US reports nearly 60,000 new cases in highest daily count since August

There were 59,494 new cases of COVID-19 identified in the United States on Wednesday, the country's highest daily tally since Aug. 14, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

The latest daily tally is up by more than 7,000 from the previous day but still falls under the country’s record set on July 16, when there were 77,255 new cases in a 24-hour-reporting period.

An additional 985 coronavirus-related fatalities were also recorded Wednesday, up by nearly 200 from the previous day but down from a peak of 2,666 new fatalities reported on April 17.

Medical personnel work inside a field hospital known as an alternate care facility at the state fair ground near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Oct. 12, 2020, as COVID-19 cases spike in the state.
Wisconsin Department Of Administration/Handout via Reuters

A total of 7,916,532 people in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 216,903 of them have died, according to Johns Hopkins. The cases include people from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C. and other U.S. territories as well as repatriated citizens.

By May 20, all U.S. states had begun lifting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The day-to-day increase in the country's cases then hovered around 20,000 for a couple of weeks before shooting back up and crossing 70,000 for the first time in mid-July. The daily tally of new cases has gradually come down since then but has started to climb again in recent weeks.

The number of new COVID-19 cases recorded in the United States increased by double digits in week-over-week comparisons, while the number of new deaths from the disease continued to tick downward slightly, according to an internal memo from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that was obtained by ABC News on Wednesday night.

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