Coronavirus updates: 23-year-old college student dies from COVID-19

Jamesha Waddell, a senior at Livingstone College, died Thursday.

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Erin Schumaker, Ivan Pereira, Jon Haworth, and Meredith Deliso
Last Updated: November 23, 2020, 2:19 PM EST

A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1.3 million people worldwide.

Over 58.7 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 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. The criteria for diagnosis -- through clinical means or a lab test -- has also varied from country to country.

The United States is the worst-affected nation, with more than 12.2 million diagnosed cases and at least 256,783 deaths.

Nearly 200 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. All times Eastern.
Nov 18, 2020, 3:26 PM EST

19 US states hit record number of hospitalizations

According to the COVID Tracking Project, 19 U.S. states hit a record number of current hospitalizations Tuesday: Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

PHOTO: Marissa Gallegos with Medical Teams Northwest takes a swab from a person while administering COVID-19 testing at the Lane County Fairgrounds in Eugene, Ore., Oct. 8, 2020.
Marissa Gallegos with Medical Teams Northwest takes a swab from a person while administering COVID-19 testing at the Lane County Fairgrounds in Eugene, Ore., Oct. 8, 2020.
Andy Nelson via via USA Today Network

Diners eat inside Masonry Grill observing social distancing in downtown Salem, Ore. Gov. Kate Brown's "pause" went into effect Nov. 11, limiting the number of people allowed in a restaurant to 50, staff included.
Brian Hayes/Stateman Journal via USA Today Network

Six states -- Idaho, Maine, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wyoming -- reached a record number of new cases Tuesday. Four states -- Iowa, Kentucky, New Mexico and Wisconsin -- recorded a record number of deaths.

Daily cases have climbed each day over the last week in the U.S., reaching 154,266 on Tuesday, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

A stadium worker helps a fan find their seat as they both wear required face coverings before the game between the Memphis Tigers and the Arkansas State Red Wolves at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on Sept. 5, 2020 in Memphis, Tenn.
Brett Carlsen/Getty Images, FILE

ABC News' Brian Hartman, Ben Bell, Soorin Kim and Arielle Mitropoulos contributed to this report.

Nov 18, 2020, 2:55 PM EST

NYC schools closing Thursday

New York City public schools will close for in-person learning Thursday because the city has reached its 3% positivity rate threshold, said Chancellor Richard Carranza.

All 300,000 students will learn remotely until further notice, he said.

"This is a temporary closure, and school buildings will reopen as soon as it is safe to do so," Carranza said.

Students demonstrate during a rally to call on New York Mayor Bill de Blasio to keep schools open amidst the coronavirus pandemic, Nov. 14, 2020, in New York.
Mary Altaffer/AP, FILE

According to state data, New York City’s seven-day rolling average positivity rate is 2.5%.

As of Monday, the schools had a positivity rate of 0.23% out of more than 140,000 students and staff tested.

vABC News' Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.

Nov 18, 2020, 2:15 PM EST

US facing 'worst rate of rise in cases'

White House coronavirus task force member Adm. Brett Giroir said the U.S. is facing "the worst rate of rise in cases that we've seen."

PHOTO: A woman, accompanied by a child, looks over as an airline crew wearing full personal protective equipment against COVID-19 walks through the international terminal at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles on Nov. 17, 2020.
A woman, accompanied by a child, looks over as an airline crew wearing full personal protective equipment against COVID-19 walks through the international terminal at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles on Nov. 17, 2020.
Keith Birmingham/The Orange County Register via AP

Workers in PPE are seen at the Judiciary Square Covid-19 testing site in Washington, D.C., Nov. 18, 2020.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

"This is not crying wolf," he stressed in an interview on MSNBC.

Though "vaccines are around the corner," Giroir said, state and local officials must be "very rigorous" about limiting certain businesses, limiting crowds in indoor spaces and enforcing mask use.

"If we do not do that, we will lose tens of thousands of Americans by the time the vaccine is out and widely distributed," he said.

Giroir also urged Americans to remember that a negative test is not a "free pass" to forgo masks and social distancing over the holidays.

A sign on a Muni bus advises that passengers are required to wear masks, during the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020, in San Francisco.
Jeff Chiu/AP

"That negative test today does not mean you're going to be negative tomorrow or the next day, and certainly not by Thanksgiving. And it is not a free pass to go without all the important measures that we want, particularly mask wearing, physical distancing and following all the recommendations that the CDC has for the holidays," Giroir said.

 ABC News' Brian Hartman contributed to this report.

Nov 18, 2020, 12:28 PM EST

New surge hits South Korea

South Korea is on edge after a surge in new COVID-19 cases this week.

PHOTO: An attendee stands in a sterilizer station as a precaution against the coronavirus, before entering the DX Korea 2020 defense expo in Goyang, South Korea, Nov. 18, 2020.
An attendee stands in a sterilizer station as a precaution against the coronavirus, before entering the DX Korea 2020 defense expo in Goyang, South Korea, Nov. 18, 2020. South Korea has recorded its largest daily increase in coronavirus infections in nearly three months as it gets set to tighten social distancing rules in the greater Seoul area.
Ahn Young-joon/AP

Since the outbreak in late February, South Korea has mostly maintained low COVID-19 number.

But this week this country is seeing a steady increase and hit the highest in 81 days at 313 newly confirmed cases.

South Korea now has 29,311 cases and 496 deaths.

ABC News' Joohee Cho Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.

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