Coronavirus updates: Over 7,000 Americans died in past week

The increase comes less than two weeks after Halloween.

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Ivan Pereira, and Meredith Deliso
Video byJessie DiMartino
Last Updated: November 18, 2020, 4:38 AM EST

A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1.3 million people worldwide.

Over 53.2 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.

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 nation, with more than 10.7 million diagnosed cases and at least 244,283 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:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Nov 10, 2020, 7:41 PM EST

Massive increase in new cases, deaths across country: HHS

Fifty states and territories are in an upward trajectory of new cases, as deaths rise and hospital space continues to dry up, according to an internal memo from United States Department of Health and Human Services that was obtained by ABC News.

During the period of Nov. 3 to Nov. 9, the country recorded 767,645 new cases, a nearly 31% increase from the previous seven-day period, according to the memo. There were 6,838 deaths during that period, which was a nearly 18% jump from the previous week, the memo said.

PHOTO: Medical workers are seen in one of three refrigerated trailers, sent by the Federal Emergency Management Administration to help with the rising number of COVID-19 fatalities, in El Paso, Texas, Nov. 9, 2020.
Medical workers are seen in one of three refrigerated trailers, sent by the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) to help with the rising number of COVID-19 fatalities, at the rear of the El Paso County Office of the Medical Examiner in El Paso, Texas, Nov. 9, 2020.
Jorge Salgado/Reuters

The national test-positivity rate increased to 9% from 7.4% in week-to-week comparisons, according to the memo.

About 24% of hospitals across the country have more than 80% of their ICU beds filled, HHS said.

Several state leaders have warned that the situation is getting dire, according to the memo.

In Arizona, officials warned of an escalating death toll, citing COVID-19 fatigue and crowded holiday gatherings as potential dangers, HHS said. In Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker noted that hospital admissions doubled or tripled in every region of Chicago, according to the memo.

Nov 10, 2020, 6:47 PM EST

Texas sets new COVID daily case record

Texas health officials announced the most daily COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began Tuesday.

There were 10,865 new cases reported and 94 new deaths, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas hospitals have 6,170 confirmed COVID-19 patients, according to the Health Department.

The state has recorded 974,230 total cases since the pandemic began, health department data shows. Over the last month, 184,170 new cases were confirmed, according to the data.

There have been a total of 18,863 coronavirus-related deaths in Texas, according to the state. Over 1,500 deaths were recorded in the state over the last 30 days, according to the data.

ABC News' Gina Sunseri contributed to this report.

Nov 10, 2020, 6:29 PM EST

Fauci estimates average Americans can get vaccination by April

Dr. Anthony Fauci estimated during a CNN interview that people who are not high priority will be able to get vaccinated "probably by April, by the end of April."

The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said there are concerns that there may be a lot of people who do not want to be vaccinated right away.

"That is why we were talking that it might take well into the second and third quarter to finally get people to be convinced to get vaccinated," Fauci said.

He added that the incentive to get the vaccine will be increased by the treatment's efficacy.

"When you hear something is 90 to 95% effective it makes it more likely someone would want to get vaccinated," Fauci said. "I think you're going to get vaccinated within the first four months. I'd say by April you'll be able to get vaccinated."

Nov 10, 2020, 4:29 PM EST

South Dakota hardest-hit in US with 53.97% positivity rate

South Dakota is the hardest-hit state in the U.S. with a 53.97% positivity rate, according to Johns Hopkins University.

South Dakota is followed by Iowa with a 48.29% positivity rate and Kansas where there's a 41.27% positivity rate.

The state with the lowest COVID-19 numbers is Vermont, which has a 0.64% positivity rate.

The next safest states are Maine at 2.02% and New York, once the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic, with a 2.07% positivity rate.

Construction workers wait in line for a temperature check to return to the job site after lunch, amid the COVID-19 outbreak, in the Manhattan borough of New York City, Nov. 10, 2020.
Carlo Allegri/Reuters

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