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

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

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.

Nov 19, 2020, 12:33 PM EST

1 person dying of COVID-19 every 17 seconds in Europe

More than 29,000 people in Europe died last week of COVID-19, equalling one about every 17 seconds, said Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, the World Health Organization's regional director for the continent.

Medical workers provide care to a patient infected with COVID-19 disease in the "Hopital Prive de la Loire", in Saint-Etienne, France, on Nov. 6, 2020.
Jeff Pachoud/AFP via Getty Images

Some intensive care units in Switzerland are at full capacity, he said, while in France, intensive care wards have been at over 95% capacity for 10 days.

"Every time we choose to follow guidance, stop the spread of misinformation or address denial, we contribute to preventing lives lost," Kluge said. "This is avoidable."

ABC News' Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.

Nov 19, 2020, 12:06 PM EST

CDC predicts at least 276,000 Americans dead by Dec. 12

The CDC predicts that between 276,000 and 298,000 Americans will be dead from COVID-19 by Dec. 12.

Earlier this month, the CDC forecasted that the U.S. would hit at least 250,000 deaths by Thanksgiving weekend. That grim milestone was reached on Wednesday.

PHOTO: A nurse puts on personal protective equipment as she prepares to enter a COVID-19 patient's room inside IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, April, 2020.
A nurse puts on personal protective equipment as she prepares to enter a COVID-19 patient's room inside IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, April, 2020. Coronavirus Covid 19 Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital
Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar via USA Today Network

ABC News' Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.

Nov 19, 2020, 12:22 PM EST

CDC recommends against Thanksgiving travel

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that Americans do not travel for Thanksgiving.

Passengers check bags for a Delta Air Lines, Inc. flight during the Covid-19 pandemic at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, Nov. 18, 2020.
Patrick Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

"We're seeing exponential growth in cases," CDC COVID-19 incident manager Dr. Henry Walke said. "The opportunity to translocate disease or infection from one part of the country to another leads to our recommendation to avoid travel at this time."

A staff member wears PPE while talking with a traveler at an airport COVID-19 testing location inside the Tom Bradley International Terminal during the Covid-19 pandemic at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, Nov. 18, 2020.
Patrick Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

United Airlines, American Airlines and Southwest all reported a spike in cancellations over the last week.

ABC News' Stephanie Ebbs and Sam Sweeney contributed to this report.

Nov 19, 2020, 11:23 AM EST

Los Angeles may see another stay-at-home order

With the pandemic intensifying in Los Angeles County, another stay-at-home order is possible in "the near future," said Christina Ghaly, the county's health department director, "if we can't get the numbers down."

"Earlier on in the pandemic, we were seeing the cases among people who had known risk factors: they were in congregate living facilities, skilled nursing facilities, they had a clear exposure in their workplace," she told "GMA3: What You Need To Know." "Now, the transmission is just simply much more widespread. And it seems to be due to the fact that people are mingling with others outside of their household, maybe are letting their guard down with their mask or not wearing the mask, and just not always following those basic public health practices."

People wait in their cars in long lines at a COVID-19 testing site in a parking lot at Dodger Stadium, Nov. 17, 2020, in Los Angeles.
Dean Musgrove/The Orange County Register via AP

With Thanksgiving one week away, Ghaly warned, "A test can't be used as a free pass for getting into a social gathering with people outside of your household."

"The test result is really only accurate on the day you took the test," she explained. "When it comes back a day later, you could have turned to be positive that day, or certainly the day after that or the day after that. So while the test is helpful and very critical part of helping us to curb the transmission of COVID when combined with other measures, by itself, it doesn't necessarily do anything. So I would encourage people, please don't use a test to go out with your friends on the weekend or to engage and intermingle with people that are outside of your household. "

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