Coronavirus updates: CDC now 'strongly recommends' masks on airplanes, public transportation
The goal is to "help safely reopen America’s economy," the CDC said.
A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1.1 million people worldwide.
Over 40 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 8.1 million diagnosed cases and at least 219,674 deaths.
California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 875,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 854,000 cases and over 755,000 cases, respectively.
More than 190 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.
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Italy imposes tighter restrictions as cases surge
Further restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 came into effect in Italy on Monday, after a sharp rise in infections.
Under the new measures, all bars, pubs and restaurants across the European country must close from midnight until 5 a.m., while gambling venues must close at 9 p.m. Restaurants are allowed to serve no more than six people per table and only after 6 p.m.
Local festivals are now banned, and mayors can close streets and public squares after 9 p.m. to halt gatherings.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte warned that gyms and swimming pools may also be shut down next week if they don't follow the safety protocols.
"These measures are aimed to avoid another lockdown," Conte said Sunday while announcing the new rules. "The country cannot face another lockdown that would compromise the economic fabric of the country."
The move comes after Italy, once the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, confirmed 11,705 new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend, an all-time high.
ABC News' Phoebe Natanson contributed to this report.
Russia reports nearly 16,000 new cases in new record high
Russia confirmed another 15,982 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, its highest daily tally yet.
An additional 179 deaths from COVID-19 were also registered in the past 24 hours, down from last week's peak of 286. The cumulative totals now stand at 1,369,313 cases and 23,723 deaths, according to Russia's coronavirus response headquarters.
The country of 145 million people has the fourth-highest tally of COVID-19 cases in the world, behind only the United States, India and Brazil.
More than 33% of the newly confirmed cases -- 5,376 -- and over 28% of the newly registered deaths -- 51 -- were reported in the capital, Moscow, according to country's coronavirus response headquarters.
Although Russia has been breaking its own records for daily case counts and deaths almost every day since Oct. 9, authorities there are resisting shutting down businesses again. Few measures have been imposed in Moscow, the epicenter of the country's COVID-19 outbreak and recent surge.
ABC News' Alina Lobzina contributed to this report.
Global case count tops 40 million
More than 40 million people around the world have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
The global tally crossed the 40 million mark on Monday morning in yet another grim milestone of the pandemic.
The United States has the highest number of diagnosed cases of any country, with more than 8.1 million, but is closely followed by India, which has over 7.5 million. Brazil, Russia and Argentina are also in the top five, according to Johns Hopkins data.
Top Palestinian official taken to Israeli hospital for COVID-19
Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat, who is battling COVID-19, was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Israel on Sunday, according to the Palestinian Liberation Organization.
Erekat, who lives in the town of Jericho in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, disclosed earlier this month that he had contracted COVID-19. The 65-year-old has a history of health problems and received a lung transplant in the United States in 2017.
"Following his contraction of COVID-19, and due to the chronic health problems he faces in the respiratory system, Dr. Erekat's condition now requires medical attention in a hospital," the Palestinian Liberation Organization said in a statement Sunday.
Erekat's brother told Agence France-Presse that "his situation is not good."
Erekat, who serves as the secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, is one of the most senior advisors to the Palestinian president. He is a longtime proponent of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, there have been more than 42,490 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with at least 381 deaths in the West Bank.
ABC News' Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.
Trump administration throws out ventilators sent from Russia
The Trump administration has thrown out 45 ventilators that Russia sent the U.S. last spring, the Federal Emergency Management Agency confirmed in a statement Monday.
The ventilators were delivered as part of a medical aid flight sent last spring by Russian President Vladimir Putin to President Donald Trump.
"He offered a lot of medical, high quality stuff that I accepted and that may save a lot of lives. I'll take it every day," Trump said at the time of the flight, dismissing questions about whether it was Russian propaganda.
ABC was first to report last spring that the U.S. was billed some $660K for the Russian aid supplies, which included thousands of pieces of equipment not typically used in hospitals, like chemical warfare-style gas masks and household cleaning gloves.
When asked whether the U.S. would get its money back, a FEMA spokeswoman suggested that money never changed hands because the supplies are now regarded as a "donation."
"Therefore, no payment was required by the U.S. for the donated goods," she said.
New York and New Jersey had received the ventilators but quickly returned them to the federal stockpile without ever having used them, following reports that five coronavirus patients in St. Petersburg were killed in fires linked to overloaded ventilators.
"The donated ventilators in question were disposed of following strict hazardous waste disposal regulatory guidelines," the FEMA spokeswoman said.
ABC News' Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.