Coronavirus updates: Trump calls diagnosis 'blessing in disguise'
Oregon is facing "explosive growth in case counts."
A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1 million people worldwide.
Over 36 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 7.5 million diagnosed cases and at least 211,725 deaths.
California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 841,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 803,000 cases and over 722,000 cases, respectively.
More than 190 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 are being tracked by the World Health Organization, at least seven of which are in crucial phase three trials.
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Utah sees record hospitalizations ahead of VP debate
Utah recorded a record high of 226 coronavirus hospitalizations on Wednesday, The Salt Lake City Tribune reported.
The numbers were released hours before the vice presidential debate in Salt Lake City.
Utah recorded 1,007 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the Tribune reported. The state's goal was to keep weeklong averages under 400 daily new cases.
Utah now has over 80,000 COVID-19 cases and at least 496 fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins.
Cases expected to continue rising in Northeast, Oregon among ‘most concerning’ spots in US
Much of the Northeast is expected to see coronavirus infection rates rise in the next four weeks, according to new weekly projections from PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Cases are forecast to more than double in Boston in the next month if social distancing and other conditions stay as they are, PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) said in a statement.
In New York City, the forecast is worse for all five boroughs for the first time since spring, according to PolicyLab at CHOP.
Hospitalizations are on the rise in the Midwest and Northeast. Hospitalizations doubled in Wisconsin over the last month and have increased nearly 50% in Massachusetts since mid-September, the group said.
Meanwhile, Oregon is showing to be among "the most concerning" spots in the U.S., due to "explosive growth in case counts and quickly rising testing positivity rates that have more than doubled in some areas," PolicyLab at CHOP said.
ABC News' Brian Hartman contributed to this report.
France reports record daily rise in cases
France has reported 18,746 new cases of COVID-19 over the last 24 hours, a record one-day increase. An additional 80 coronavirus-related deaths also were recorded.
The nation's cumulative total now stands at 653,509 cases and 32,455 deaths, according to the latest data from country's public health agency.
France's positivity rate stands at 9.1%.
In Ile-de-France, the region surrounding Paris, COVID-19 patients now take up more than 40% of all intensive care unit beds in hospitals, according to a spokesperson for the regional health agency.
France is among several countries in Europe seeing a rise in COVID-19 infections as a second wave of the pandemic hits the region.
Earlier this week, Paris and its inner suburbs were placed on the maximum COVID-19 alert level. Bars and cafes will be closed for two weeks from Tuesday under new measures to curb the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the French capital. Restaurants will remain open, so long as they adhere to new safety measures, including providing sanitizing hand gel, limiting patrons to six per table with at least 1 meter (slightly more than 3 feet) between seats and allowing diners to remove their masks only for eating.
ABC News' Ibtissem Guenfound contributed to this report.
Italy will mandate masks
Wearing a mask will become mandatory in Italy beginning on Thursday, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said.
The rule applies to indoor and outdoor spaces, and violators could be fined.
Italy has experienced a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases recently, according to the Italian news agency ANSA. On Wednesday health authorities reported 3,678 new cases, the highest one-day rise since mid-April, according to the Health Ministry.
Italy now has more than 333,900 cases and at least 36,061 fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University.