Coronavirus updates: Fauci sets record straight on masks after debate
Fauci said his stance on masks were "taken out of context."
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.
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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.
"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.
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.
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.
Paris, Lyon and Lille approaching the 'maximum alert zone' threshold
The incidence rates of the novel coronavirus in Paris, Lyon and Lille have exceeded the threshold of 250 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants set by the government.
In France, a region can be placed on maximum alert when the incidence rate of the virus -- the number of new positive cases -- is greater than 250 per 100,000 inhabitants over the last seven days in the general population and over 100 for people over 60. More than 30% of intensive care beds must also be occupied by COVID-19 patients.
Paris, Lyon and Lille have now reached several of these milestones meaning the cities could be placed on "maximum alert" and have new government restrictions placed on them.
As of Tuesday, France has reported 590,021 cases of coronavirus and 31,908 deaths.
France is attempting to revive its economy while simultaneously trying to curb a steady climb in infections which spread during the summer months.
ABC News' Ibtissem Guenfoud contributed to this report.
Wisconsin reports highest number of deaths in a single day since late May
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported 17 deaths due to the novel coronavirus, which brought the total number of deaths in the state to 1,300 people.
The 17 deaths recorded Tuesday was the highest reported number in a single day since late May.
"We are in a crisis right now," said Ryan Westergaard, DHS chief medical officer. "The likelihood that this is going to get much worse before it gets better is a real one."
The number of people hospitalized due to the virus in Wisconsin was also higher than ever on Tuesday with 646 coronavirus patients occupying beds and 205 patients being treated in the ICU.
Additionally, the average new daily case count over the last seven days for the state was 2,255, the highest number yet.
Wisconsin also reported 2,367 new cases and 8,379 negative tests, for a positivity rate of 22%. The average positivity rate over the last seven days was 19.5%.