Coronavirus updates: 23-year-old college student dies from COVID-19
Jamesha Waddell, a senior at Livingstone College, died Thursday.
A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1.3 million people worldwide.
Over 58.7 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 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 criteria for diagnosis -- through clinical means or a lab test -- has also varied from country to country.
The United States is the worst-affected nation, with more than 12.2 million diagnosed cases and at least 256,783 deaths.
Nearly 200 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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College students leaving Boston for Thanksgiving must stay home, mayor says
As COVID-19 cases increase in Massachusetts, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh tweeted Tuesday: "Normally, many college students travel to their hometown for Thanksgiving and then return to campus for the rest of the term. We have asked colleges and students not to do that this year. If you go home for Thanksgiving, you should not be returning to Boston this semester."
Massachusetts reported 11 more deaths Monday, bringing the state's death toll to 10,110.
"Every metric tells us that we're in the midst of a significant and concerning increase of COVID activity," Walsh said. "The daily cases we're seeing are starting to look like the numbers we saw near our peak in April and May."
Contact tracing has shown the virus is spreading at workplaces and at gatherings in homes, Walsh added.
"We’re asking you to spend Thanksgiving in person with only your current household," Walsh tweeted.
ABC News' Rachel Katz contributed to this report.
100,000 volunteer for Royal Caribbean test cruises
Royal Caribbean International president and CEO Michael Bayley announced that 100,000 people have volunteered to test out COVID-19 protocols before the cruise line restarts its operations.
"We can’t wait to start this next phase with you all!" Bayley wrote in a post on his official Facebook page. "It has been so gratifying to receive literally thousands of emails and calls offering to volunteer."
Cruise lines operating in American waters are required by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to run simulated voyages with volunteer guests before recommencing sailing amid the coronavirus pandemic. Volunteers must acknowledge in writing that they risk contracting COVID-19.
Last week, Royal Caribbean told ABC News it was encouraged by the huge interest in its trial cruises but that dates had not yet been set.
ABC News' Gio Benito, Mina Kaji and Nathan Luna contributed to this report.
Nebraska hospital 'bursting at the seams' with COVID-19 patients
Dr. Brian Boer, a critical care doctor working in the COVID-19 wing of Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, said his "nightmare scenario" is one in which non-coronavirus patients have to be turned away because the hospital is "bursting at the seams with so much COVID."
"If you ask some of my colleagues and partners, like, we're there," Boer told "Start Here," ABC News' daily news podcast.
"You know, in terms of the trajectory we're on, if it continues like this unabated, like, we're going to end up in the scenario where we're going to have to make really difficult decisions and tell people we can't offer them the things we normally would have," he added. "We're knocking on that door right now."
The number of people being hospitalized for COVID-19 in Nebraska each day has quadrupled over the past month, which Boer said is reflective of what he's seeing in his hospital, where almost half of all intensive care patients are battling the disease.
The issue isn't the lack of ICU beds or ventilators, he said, but rather the lack of adequate staffing.
"We'll create beds or we have ventilators and the space or the equipment -- we don't have the bodies," Boer said. "We don't have the nurses, the respiratory therapist, the residents and advanced practice providers and physicians to care for that person."
Boer said he isn't seeing a lot of spread among health care providers, thanks to personal protective equipment.
"We're more worried about getting sick in the community than we are getting sick at work -- and that's a fact," he said.
This report was featured in the Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020, episode of “Start Here,” ABC News’ daily news podcast.
"Start Here" offers a straightforward look at the day's top stories in 20 minutes. Listen for free every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, the ABC News app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Over 300 attended wedding leading to outbreak in Washington state, officials say
Health authorities are urging attendees of a large wedding held in Washington state to quarantine through Saturday and get tested for COVID-19 after several guests have tested positive.
At least 17 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Washington's Grant County have been linked to the wedding near Ritzville on Nov. 7, which was attended by more than 300 people from various communities. The Grant County Health District said more cases tied to the event are "being added daily" and that attendees diagnosed with COVID-19 have also been linked to two subsequent outbreaks.
Wedding ceremonies at the time were limited to a total of no more than 30 people and, starting Monday, indoor receptions or similar gatherings are banned, according to the Grant County Health District.