Maksim Tkachenko/iStockBy JON HAWORTH, IVAN PEREIRA, MEREDITH DELISO and MARC NATHANSON, ABC NEWS
(NEW YORK) — The novel coronavirus has now killed more than 727,000 people worldwide.
More than 19.7 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 United States is the worst-affected country, with more than five million diagnosed cases and at least 162,833 deaths.
Here’s how the news developed Sunday. All times Eastern:
9:13 p.m.: Major League Baseball postpones another series
Major League Baseball officials announced that the three-game series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates, scheduled for Monday through Wednesday in St. Louis, has been postponed due to the virus.
The announcement follows the league’s decision on Friday to postpone games over the weekend between the Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs, after the Cardinals reported additional positive coronavirus tests in their clubhouse.
“In light of the most recent positive test results, MLB and the [St. Louis] Club believe it is prudent to conduct additional testing while players and staff are quarantined before the team returns to play,” MLB officials said in a statement Sunday evening.
The Cardinals have not played since July 29 due to positive coronavirus tests.
5:54 p.m.: New York state reports its lowest positivity rate yet
New York state’s COVID-19 testing positivity rate has reached a record low.
The state’s rate fell to its lowest level so far during the pandemic on Saturday, with 0.78%, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Sunday. New York’s positivity rate has been hovering at around 1% since early June. It peaked at nearly 47% in early April, when testing wasn’t widely available.
There were 515 new COVID-19 cases and seven deaths in the state reported on Saturday. The number of ICU patients was 131, the lowest since March 16, the governor said.
Portions of the state began moving into Stage 4, the final phase of its reopening plan, in late June, allowing for low-risk indoor and outdoor activities and entertainment, higher education, and professional sports without fans.
New York City entered a modified Stage 4, with some limitations, on July 20.
3:09 p.m.: Ohio crosses 100,000 cases
Ohio has become the latest state to record over 100,000 COVID-19 cases, according to its Health Department.
As of Sunday, there were 100,848 confirmed cases in the state and 3,669 deaths.
Ohio becomes the 17th state to have over 100,000 cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Virginia and South Carolina also both passed the milestone this weekend, according to the university.
12:18 p.m.: Texas reports highest average positivity rate
The Texas Health Department said that its seven-day average for COVID-19 positivity rate reached a record high Saturday with 19.41%.
This was two percentage points higher than the previous record on July 16, according to Health Department data. The average was steadily falling from July 16 to July 29, when the seven-day average was 12.09%, however it has been increasing steadily since July 30, Health Department data indicated.
An increase in test positivity could reflect an increase in new cases, a reduction in tests conducted, or both. The state has administered over 4.3 million COVID-19 tests so far, the Health Department said.
11:42 a.m.: Washington records 1st teen to die from COVID-19
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department announced it recorded the first coronavirus death to affect a Washington state resident under 20 years old.
The unidentified teen lived in South Hill resident and had no reported underlying health conditions, according to the Health Department.
“The disease is everywhere. To drive down the spread and protect our loved ones, we all need to mask up, maintain physical distance, and stay close to home,” Anthony L-T Chen, the director of health of Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, said in a statement.
Washington state has 62,523 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,688 deaths as of Sunday, according to the state’s Health Department.
11:28 a.m.: Maryland positivity rate hits a new low
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced the seven-day average of the statewide COVID-19 positivity rate reached a new all-time low of 3.75%.
The state conducted 1.03 million tests so far and 17.2% of the state’s population has been tested, according to the governor. Maryland conducted 40,473 tests on Saturday and had a positivity rate of 2.72%, the governor said.
The statewide positivity rate has been under 5% since June 25, and is now more than 86% lower than its April 17 peak, Hogan’s office said.
The state has 95,903 total COVID-19 cases as of Sunday morning and 3,448 deaths, according to the state’s Health Department.
11:15 a.m.: Florida records over 6,200 new cases, 77 new deaths
The Florida Health Department said it recorded 6,229 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the statewide total to 532,806. The state recorded 77 new deaths during that time frame, bringing the total number of coronavirus related fatalities to 8,315, according to the state’s Health Department.
Florida recorded 254 new hospitalizations in the last 24 hours, and the virus has hospitalized 30,505 people so far, the health department said.
Approximately 20% of the state’s ICU beds are available, according to Florida’s Agency for Healthcare Administration. Thirty-seven hospitals across the state have run out of ICU beds, and four counties have no ICU beds available, according to the agency.
10:15 a.m.: US reaches 5 million coronavirus cases
The U.S. recorded its five millionth COVID-19 case Sunday morning, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
The number of deaths in the country is above 162,000, the data indicated.
Globally, there are roughly 19.6 million COVID-19 cases and more than 727,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins. The U.S. has led the world in coronavirus cases for months, with nearly 2 million more than Brazil, which has the second-most cases.
1:22 a.m.: Minnesota Vikings player needs open-heart surgery after post-COVID diagnosis shows heart problem
Minnesota Vikings linebacker Cameron Smith posted on his Instagram page Saturday night that he will need open-heart surgery to fix a defective valve that he’s had since birth.
The condition was discovered from additional tests administered following his COVID-19 positive diagnosis.
“Earlier this week I found out I need open heart surgery to fix a bicuspid aortic valve that I was born with,” Smith’s statement read. “Although this will unfortunately end my 2020 season, it is really a blessing that we found this as my heart is severely enlarged and wouldn’t have lasted much longer. I found this out after I tested positive for COVID and had to have further testing done as protocol. The Lord works in mysterious ways, but I could really feel him on this one!”
Smith concluded: “There is a surgery that will allow me to continue to play football as soon as I am healed and cleared and I didn’t think twice about going with that one. By no means am I ready to be done playing football, there is still so much more I want to accomplish on the field. I’m going to attack this like everything else I have in life. Already looking forward to the comeback!”
12:40 a.m.: Cardinals vs. Pirates on Monday postponed due to coronavirus
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ flight to St. Louis on Sunday has been canceled and their game on Monday against the Cardinals has been postponed, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
By Sunday, the teams will have a better sense as to whether they’ll play Tuesday and Wednesday, sources told Passan.
The Cardinals’ three-game series against the Chicago Cubs this weekend was postponed after the league said two Cardinals players and one staff member tested positive for the coronavirus from samples collected over the past two days.
In total, nine Cardinals players and seven staffers have tested positive since last week. The Cardinals haven’t played since July 29.
12:15 a.m.: Biden on the U.S. reaching 5 million COVID-19 cases: ‘It’s a number that boggles the mind and breaks the heart’
Former Vice President Joe Biden reacted Saturday evening to the news that the United States has reached 5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19.
In a paper statement, Biden said the number “boggles the mind and breaks the heart,” urging Americans to continue taking steps, including mask-wearing, to combat the spread of the virus and eventually overcome it.
As he has throughout the pandemic, Biden also slammed Trump’s lack of leadership on the crisis, writing that the country “continue[s] to hear little more from President Trump than excuses and lies.”
“No other high-income economy is still struggling to get this under control. In fact, Americans are no longer welcome in much of the world, because we are seen as a public health threat. And we are where we are today for one simple, infuriating reason: Trump waved the white flag and gave up. He didn’t want to deal with the pandemic, so he stopped trying. He didn’t do his job,” Biden wrote.
“Trump has already thrown away months of the American people’s sacrifice and hard work. Imagine what four more years of his failures will cost us,” he added.
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