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.
Latest headlines:
CDC predicts at least 276,000 Americans dead by Dec. 12
The CDC predicts that between 276,000 and 298,000 Americans will be dead from COVID-19 by Dec. 12.
Earlier this month, the CDC forecasted that the U.S. would hit at least 250,000 deaths by Thanksgiving weekend. That grim milestone was reached on Wednesday.
ABC News' Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.
CDC recommends against Thanksgiving travel
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that Americans do not travel for Thanksgiving.
"We're seeing exponential growth in cases," CDC COVID-19 incident manager Dr. Henry Walke said. "The opportunity to translocate disease or infection from one part of the country to another leads to our recommendation to avoid travel at this time."
United Airlines, American Airlines and Southwest all reported a spike in cancellations over the last week.
ABC News' Stephanie Ebbs and Sam Sweeney contributed to this report.
Los Angeles may see another stay-at-home order
With the pandemic intensifying in Los Angeles County, another stay-at-home order is possible in "the near future," said Christina Ghaly, the county's health department director, "if we can't get the numbers down."
"Earlier on in the pandemic, we were seeing the cases among people who had known risk factors: they were in congregate living facilities, skilled nursing facilities, they had a clear exposure in their workplace," she told "GMA3: What You Need To Know." "Now, the transmission is just simply much more widespread. And it seems to be due to the fact that people are mingling with others outside of their household, maybe are letting their guard down with their mask or not wearing the mask, and just not always following those basic public health practices."
With Thanksgiving one week away, Ghaly warned, "A test can't be used as a free pass for getting into a social gathering with people outside of your household."
"The test result is really only accurate on the day you took the test," she explained. "When it comes back a day later, you could have turned to be positive that day, or certainly the day after that or the day after that. So while the test is helpful and very critical part of helping us to curb the transmission of COVID when combined with other measures, by itself, it doesn't necessarily do anything. So I would encourage people, please don't use a test to go out with your friends on the weekend or to engage and intermingle with people that are outside of your household. "
Maryland football coach tests positive, Saturday's game canceled
The University of Maryland's head football coach, Michael Locksley, has tested positive for COVID-19, Maryland's athletics department announced.
This Saturday's game against Michigan State has been canceled and won't be rescheduled.
Locksley, who tested positive Wednesday and is isolating at home, said in a statement, "I am feeling strong, with only minor symptoms."
"I will continue to lead this program virtually and our game preparations for Indiana [set for Nov. 28] will begin immediately," he said. "This virus is testing our players and coaches right now, but I have no doubt that we will emerge as a stronger unit for having gone through this together."
FDA could approve emergency use of Pfizer vaccine in December
Pfizer said it's completed its submission to the Food and Drug Administration in which the company requests emergency use authorization for its vaccine.
The FDA is expected to start digging into the efficacy and safety data immediately, and it could make a decision as early as mid-December.
ABC News' Sony Salzman contributed to this report.