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.

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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Kentucky on pace for record week of coronavirus cases

On Tuesday, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear reported 1,018 new cases -- the state's second highest single-day increase since March 6.

“It ought to be a wake-up call,” Beshear said. “What that means is we are on pace to have even more cases than last week where we set a record number of cases.”

Kentucky is one of 22 states currently considered in the "red zone" for cases according to the latest White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing obtained by ABC News.

The official rate of positive tests, a seven-day average, remains below 5 percent, at 4.24 percent. In addition to the second-highest number of daily cases, Kentucky reported 72,808 new tests on Tuesday, the second-highest amount announced in a single day since the start of the pandemic. A total of 1,446,385 tests have been administered since early March.


Steelers-Titans game rescheduled to allow time for more COVID-19 tests

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans game, originally set for Sunday, will be rescheduled to allow more time for daily COVID-19 testing, the NFL said Wednesday.

ESPN reported that four Titans players and five team personnel members tested positive for COVID-19 this week.

The game will be played on Monday or Tuesday, the NFL said in a statement.

The Minnesota Vikings, who played the Titans over the weekend, have not reported any COVID-19 cases, an NFL spokesperson told ESPN.