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Coronavirus updates: Nearly 20,000 Amazon workers have contracted COVID-19

The company reported the number of positive tests for the first time Thursday.

ByWilliam Mansell and Emily Shapiro
Last Updated: October 2, 2020, 10:35 AM EDT

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

Over 34.1 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 207,651 deaths.

California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 821,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 774,000 cases and over 709,000 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.

Latest headlines:

Here is how the news is developing today. All times Eastern.
Oct 01, 2020, 4:18 PM EDT

Washington Monument reopens to public

Visitors can now return to the top of the Washington Monument for the first time since March 13. The monument reopened to the public on Thursday after a six-month closure due to COVID-19.

The National Park Service said it has new cleaning procedures, like closing from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. each day to disinfect. The National Park Service said it’s enforcing “significantly reduced elevator capacity, limiting trips to 4-8 passengers.”

People visit the exterior of the Washington Monument on the first day the landmark has reopened for interior tours after months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic on Oct. 1, 2020, in Washington, D.C.
Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images

Tickets are only available in advance online to promote distancing.

Oct 01, 2020, 12:15 PM EDT

New York state launches tracing app

New York state has launched a tracing app that uses cellphone technology to tell you if you were in contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19.

The app tells you if you were within 6 feet of a positive person and if you were close to that person for 10 minutes, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.

“It doesn’t give names, it doesn’t give any privacy information,” he said.

The app works in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Delaware.

ABC News' Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.

Oct 01, 2020, 12:02 PM EDT

No large events at Buckingham Palace this year

Buckingham Palace will not host any major events this year due to the pandemic, according to an update on the website.

"A variety of possibilities were examined to see if it was possible for Investitures [ceremonies to award honors] to safely take place in line with the guidelines. Sadly, due to the large numbers of guests and recipients attending, it was not possible to find a way of safely delivering these events in the current circumstances," Buckingham Palace said.

A view of Buckingham Palace in London, on April 26, 2020.
Alex Davidson/Getty Images

The Queen still plans to divide her time between Windsor and Buckingham Palace.

ABC News' Zoe Magee contributed to this report.

Oct 01, 2020, 11:01 AM EDT

New CDC guidance says entry testing at colleges might reduce transmission

The CDC has released extensive new guidance for colleges and universities dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks, dropping its previous recommendation against “entry” testing and now saying that approach might “prevent or reduce” transmission. 

A health care worker looks on as people wait in line at a testing site for COVID-19 set up for returning students, faculty and staff on the main New York University campus in New York City on Aug. 18, 2020.
Mike Segar/Reuters

The CDC's new guidance, which was quietly updated Wednesday, says due to the “frequent movement of faculty, staff and students” between campuses and the community, “a strategy of entry screening combined with regular serial testing might prevent or reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission.” 

A student at New York University (NYU) walk outside of a COVID-19 test site at its business school on Aug. 25, 2020, in New York City.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The new guidance seems to take into account growing cases near college towns since school returned this fall. The CDC said in June that it did “not recommend entry testing of all returning students, faculty, and staff.”

That guidance was delivered at a time when the U.S. testing system was stressed and some people were reporting that it took several days or even weeks to get a result. Since then, testing has become somewhat more available and college campuses have experienced a major surge in cases.

ABC News' Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.