Coronavirus updates: Florida tops 14,000 deaths as restaurants reopen
Bars and restaurants can reopen at full capacity effective immediately.
A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 987,000 people worldwide.
Over 32.4 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 million diagnosed cases and at least 203,704 deaths.
California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 803,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 751,000 cases and over 695,000 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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Wisconsin grapples with record-high COVID-19 hospitalizations
A total of 530 people remained hospitalized for COVID-19 in Wisconsin as of Thursday afternoon -- the highest yet since the pandemic began.
Among those patients, 371 were receiving mechanical ventilation and 141 were in intensive care units. Currently, 80% of all hospital beds statewide are full, according to the latest data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Wisconsin topped 500 for the first time Wednesday, according to a report by Madison ABC affiliate WKOW.
"There is no doubt that we are in a significant near-crunch time in a number of regions in the state," Dr. Mark Kaufman, chief medical officer of the Wisconsin Hospital Association, told WKOW.
The rising number of COVID-19 hospitalizations comes as hospitals are also gearing up for flu season.
"We really don't know how people will react if they are co-infected with both COVID and influenza," Kaufman said. "But it is not likely to be good."
India reports under 90,000 new cases for 5th straight day
India confirmed another 86,052 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.
An additional 1,141 coronavirus-related fatalities were also recorded. The country's cumulative total now stands at 5,818,570 confirmed cases and 92,290 deaths, according to the latest data from the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The daily caseload in the vast county of 1.3 billion people has remained below the 90,000 mark for five consecutive days after hitting a peak of 97,894 on Sept. 16, the highest single-day rise in infections worldwide since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Based on the current rate of infection, India is expected within weeks to become the pandemic's worst-hit nation, surpassing the United States, where more than 6.9 million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
UK sees highest single-day rise in cases amid 2nd wave
The United Kingdom reported 6,634 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, its highest daily caseload since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Another 40 coronavirus related-fatalities within 28 days of a positive test result were also registered Thursday, according to data published on the U.K. government's website. The latest daily death toll for COVID-19 is far below the country's record set on April 8 when there were 1,073 new fatalities reported U.K.-wide.
The United Kingdom's cumulative total now stands at 416,363 confirmed cases and 41,902 deaths. The number of new infections started to come down in mid-April after hitting a peak but has been on the rise again since July.
The surge has prompted the British government to tighten restrictions on daily life in an effort to curb the current rate of infection.
The United Kingdom is not the only country seeing a second wave of COVID-19. Other European nations including France and Spain are also grappling with growing outbreaks.
US caseload edges closer to 7 million
There were 44,110 new cases of COVID-19 identified in the United States on Thursday, as the nation's cumulative total edges closer to 7 million, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
Thursday's tally is well below the country’s record set on July 16, when there were 77,255 new cases in a 24-hour-reporting period.
An additional 914 coronavirus-related fatalities were also recorded Thursday, down from a peak of 2,666 new fatalities reported on April 17.
A total of 6,978,874 people in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 202,818 of them have died, according to Johns Hopkins. The cases include people from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C. and other U.S. territories as well as repatriated citizens.
By May 20, all U.S. states had begun lifting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The day-to-day increase in the country's cases then hovered around 20,000 for a couple of weeks before shooting back up and crossing 70,000 for the first time in mid-July. The daily tally of new cases has gradually come down since then but has hovered around 40,000 in recent weeks.
An internal memo from the Federal Emergency Management Agency obtained by ABC News on Wednesday night shows that the number of new cases recorded in the United States is increasing by double digits in week-over-week comparisons, while the number of new deaths is down.
Florida tops 14,000 deaths as restaurants reopen
The death toll from COVID-19 in Florida has now topped 14,000 after an increase of 120 new deaths in the last day, according to the Florida Department of Health.
The fatality total -- 14,083 -- is made up of 13,915 Florida residents and 168 non-residents.
This comes as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that restaurants and bars can reopen at full capacity, effective immediately.
The executive order says restaurants can’t be limited to less than 100% capacity indoors unless the local government provides specific rationale.
DeSantis also said the state will be able to hold "a full Super Bowl" next year, which is set for February in Tampa.
DeSantis' executive order also wipes out all outstanding fines for not wearing masks in public.
Florida has over 695,000 people diagnosed with COVID-19, the third-highest state for case totals in the nation, behind California and Texas.
ABC News' Rachel Katz and Scott Withers contributed to this report.