Myriam Borzee/iStockBy MORGAN WINSOR and EMILY SHAPIRO, ABC News
(NEW YORK) — A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 847,000 people worldwide.
Over 25.2 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 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 6 million diagnosed cases and at least 183,221 deaths. California has the most coronavirus cases in the U.S., with more than 706,000 people diagnosed. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 629,000 cases and over 621,000 cases respectively.
Nearly 170 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 are being tracked by the World Health Organization, six of which are in crucial phase three trials.
Here’s how the news is developing today. All times Eastern:
Aug 31, 1:33 pm
NJ to reopen indoor dining with limited seating
Restaurants across New Jersey can start opening for indoor dining this Friday, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday.
Restaurants will be limited to 25% capacity and must incorporate social distancing between tables, he said.
“Reopening responsibly will help us restore one of our state’s key industries while continuing to make progress against” the virus, Murphy tweeted.
Staff must wear masks at all times and diners must wear masks while not in their seats, Murphy said at a Monday news conference. Parties will be capped at eight.
Windows must be open for air flow and air conditioning units must be turned on to allow the maximum outdoor air to flow into dining areas, the governor added.
Movie theaters and indoor performance venues can also reopen on Friday, the governor announced. Theaters and venues will be capped at 25% capacity or 150 patrons — whichever number is smaller, he said.
New Jersey ranks No. 8 in the country for COVID-19 cases, with over 191,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. Out of those tested across New Jersey on Thursday, 1.41% were positive, Murphy said Monday.
Aug 31, 10:54 am
India sees its 2nd-highest daily case increase
India’s health ministry reported 78,512 new coronavirus cases on Monday, just shy of Sunday’s record high of 78,761 new cases.
Indian health authorities reported 971 new fatalities on Monday, bringing the nationwide death toll to 64,469.
With over 193,000 active cases, Maharashtra is India’s hardest-hit state.
ABC News’ Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.
Aug 31, 9:26 am
NJ to reopen indoor dining with limited seating
Restaurants across New Jersey can start opening for indoor dining this Friday, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday.
Restaurants will be limited to 25% capacity and must incorporate social distancing between tables, he said.
“Reopening responsibly will help us restore one of our state’s key industries while continuing to make progress against” the virus, Murphy tweeted.
New Jersey ranks No. 8 in the country for COVID-19 cases, with over 191,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. As of Sunday, the rate of transmission was at .87, according to state data.
Aug 31, 7:50 am
Hungary to shut its borders amid rising cases
Hungary will shut its border to non-residents on Tuesday in an effort to curb the rising number of COVID-19 cases, the country’s government announced Friday.
Meanwhile, Hungarian citizens returning home from abroad will be required to either self-quarantine for 14 days or test negative for COVID-19 twice, within 48 hours apart.
The move comes after Hungary identified 292 new cases on Sunday, the largest day-to-day increase the landlocked European nation has seen so far.
Overall, Hungary has reported at least 6,139 diagnosed cases of COVID-19 with 615 deaths, according to a count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
Aug 31, 7:09 am
US reports over 35,000 new cases
There were 35,343 new cases of COVID-19 identified in the United States on Sunday, according to a count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
Sunday’s tally is far below the country’s record set on July 16, when 77,255 new cases were identified in a 24-hour reporting period.
An additional 429 coronavirus-related deaths were also recorded Sunday. The latest daily death toll is well under the record 2,666 new fatalities that were reported on April 17.
A total of 5,997,163 people in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 183,068 of them have died, according to Johns Hopkins. The cases include people from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C. and other U.S. territories as well as repatriated citizens.
By May 20, all U.S. states had begun lifting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The day-to-day increase in the country’s cases then hovered around 20,000 for a couple of weeks before shooting back up and crossing 70,000 for the first time in mid-July.
However, the numbers of new COVID-19 cases and new deaths in the United States have both decreased by substantial amounts in week-over-week comparisons, according to an internal memo from the Federal Emergency Management Agency obtained by ABC News last week.
Aug 31, 6:36 am
94% of COVID-19 deaths in US had underlying conditions, CDC says
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released information showing how many people who died from COVID-19 as of last week had underlying health conditions and contributing causes.
“For 6% of the deaths, COVID-19 was the only cause mentioned,” the CDC stated on its website, alongside the data. “For deaths with conditions or causes in addition to COVID-19, on average, there were 2.6 additional conditions or cases per death.”
According to the CDC, some of the most common underlying conditions and contributing causes linked with COVID-19 deaths were influenza and pneumonia; adult respiratory distress syndrome, respiratory failure; hypertensive disease; cardiac arrest; heart failure; sepsis; diabetes; vascular and unspecified dementia; renal failure; and intentional and unintentional injury, poisoning and other adverse events.
Aug 31, 5:16 am
Global case count surpasses 25 million
The worldwide number of diagnosed cases of COVID-19 is now at 25,236,271, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
At least 846,574 people around the globe have died from the disease.
The top five countries with the highest national tallies of cases are the United States, Brazil, India, Russia and Peru, respectively.
The United States alone accounts for more than 23% of the world’s diagnosed cases.
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