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 11, 2020, 12:53 PM EST

Broadway will be part of Macy's TV-only Thanksgiving parade

Broadway will be back for one day as a part of Macy's TV-only Thanksgiving Day parade. Participating in the televised event will be: "Hamilton," "Mean Girls," "Jagged Little Pill" and "Ain’t Too Proud - The Life and Times of The Temptations."
 
The parade telecast will also include pre-taped performances from representatives of groups including the New York City Pride March, the New York City Ballet, the West Point Marching Band and the National Puerto Rican Day Parade.

ABC News' Aaron Katersky contributed to this report

Nov 11, 2020, 12:06 PM EST

UK's death toll tops 50,000

British health authorities reported 595 new COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, bringing the United Kingdom's death toll to over 50,000.

The U.K. is the first country in the European region to top 50,000 deaths.

PHOTO: A soldier from the 1st battalion Coldstream Guards greets members of the public at a coronavirus testing center on Nov. 11, 2020 in Liverpool, England. More than 23,000 people had been tested for covid-19 in the city's mass testing trial.
A soldier from the 1st battalion Coldstream Guards greets members of the public at a coronavirus testing center on Nov. 11, 2020 in Liverpool, England. More than 23,000 people had been tested for covid-19 in the first three days of the city's mass testing trial.
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Nov 11, 2020, 11:32 AM EST

Italy becomes 10th country to surpass 1 million cases

Italy confirmed 32,961 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing its tally soaring past 1 million.

The latest daily case count is just under the country's all-time high of 39,809 on Nov. 7

Italy also registered an additional 623 fatalities from COVID-19 in the past day, the highest since April but still under the country's record of 919 deaths on March 27.

A woman sits on a bench with her dogs in an almost deserted Piazza Navona in downtown Rome, Italy, on Nov. 11, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Gregorio Borgia/AP

The nationwide, cumulative total now stands at 1,028,424 confirmed cases with 42,953, according to data published Wednesday by Italy's civil protection agency.

Italy, once the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, is battling a rising number of COVID-19 infections as a second wave sweeps much of Europe. It's the tenth country in the world to surpass 1 million confirmed cases, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

Nov 11, 2020, 11:22 AM EST

United Airlines disinfecting its busiest airports with electrostatic spraying

United Airlines said Wednesday that it is disinfecting lobbies and terminals with electrostatic spraying at 35 of its busiest airports: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Cleveland, Washington Reagan, Denver, Dallas Fort Worth, Newark, Fort Lauderdale, Greensboro, Guam, Honolulu, Washington Dulles, Houston George Bush, Kona, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, LaGuardia, London Heathrow, Orlando, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New Orleans, Maui, Chicago O'Hare, Portland, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Antonio, Seattle, San Francisco, Sacramento, Orange County and Tampa.

Terminals at those airports are disinfected a few times a week, and United said it plans to introduce the electrostatic spray cleaning nightly by early December.

The electrostatic sprayer can "reach and uniformly coat germ-prone surfaces, including areas that conventional trigger sprays may easily miss," according to a press release.

The airline said it hopes to expand to more airports next year.

ABC News' Gio Benitez contributed to this report

Related Topics

Sponsored Content by Taboola