Coronavirus LIVE: Kerala reports 6,316 fresh Covid-19 positive cases

Coronavirus live updates: At 1,828,826, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 886,227, Andhra Pradesh 868,000, Tamil Nadu 783,319 and Kerala 608,357

7:59 AM

Jharkhand registers 181 fresh Covid-19 cases, 5 additional fatalities

Jharkhand reported 181 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the total number of cases to 1,09,332, according to the data released by the health department.

 

5 more deaths were also reported on Tuesday, taking the death toll to 969.

 

Meanwhile, India reported 31,118 new Covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's data on Tuesday. Read on...

7:38 AM

Lewis Hamilton tests positive for coronavirus, to miss Sakhir F1 Grand Prix

The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team says seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss the Sakhir Grand Prix this weekend.

 

The team issued a statement saying Hamilton was tested three times last week and returned a negative result each time, the last on Sunday afternoon at the Bahrain International Circuit where he won the Grand Prix.

 

But he up woke Monday morning with mild symptoms and was informed at the same time that a contact prior to arrival in Bahrain had subsequently tested positive, the team said. Read on...

7:30 AM

US airlines to get $17 bn for 4 months of payroll aid under Covid relief

U.S. airlines would receive $17 billion for four months of payroll support under a new $908 billion bipartisan Senate COVID-19 relief proposal, a spokeswoman for Senator Mark Warner said Tuesday.

 

Warner's office said the plan includes $15 billion for transit systems, $4 billion for airports, $8 billion for private buses and $1 billion for passenger railroad Amtrak.

 

The $45 billion in transportation assistance is designed to provide assistance for four months.

7:19 AM

UK votes for tier-based lockdown as minister says coronavirus under control'

Parliamentarians in the UK voted on Tuesday in the House of Commons to approve the government's tier-based lockdown, as the country's health minister said the novel coronavirus was back under control but vigilance was required.

 

The new measures, which will come into force at 00:01 GMT, were supported 291 votes to 78.

 

Several MPs from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's ruling Conservative Party, however, rebelled to vote against the move.

 

A handful of Opposition Labour MPs are also thought to have defied the party stand of abstention to vote against the changes.

7:14 AM

Wall Street stocks hit record highs on promise of coronavirus vaccines

US stocks have an early start to the so-called "Santa Claus" rally, typical for the month of December, as the top equities index S & P 500 and the technology benchmark Nasdaq hit record highs based on the promise of the upcoming coronavirus vaccines.

 

The S & P 500, a barometer for the top 500 US stocks on the New York Stock Exchange, closed up 1.1 percent at 3,660 on Tuesday after hitting a record high at 3,678. For November, the S & P 500 rose 10.8 percent, its strongest advance since April.

7:11 AM

Some 10,000 new coronavirus deaths reported in US within week

The total number of deaths related to the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the United States has exceeded 270,000, the latest data from the Johns Hopkins University revealed.

 

The data showed on Tuesday evening that the number of novel coronavirus-related deaths in the United States has reached 270,003.

7:09 AM

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to shorten COVID-19 quarantine to 10 days, 7 with negative test

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is set to shorten the recommended length of quarantine after exposure to someone who is positive for COVID-19, as the virus rages across the nation.

 

According to a senior administration official, the new guidelines, which are set to be released as soon as Tuesday evening , will allow people who have come in contact to someone infected with the virus to resume normal activity after 10 days, or 7 days if they receive a negative test result. That's down from the 14-day period recommended since the onset of the pandemic.