People over 75, front-line essential workers should get vaccine next, CDC panel says

Those groups would cover teachers and critical workers in high-risk settings.

A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 75.5 million people worldwide and killed over 1.6 million of them, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.


Canada suspends flights from UK for next 72 hours

The Canadian government announced it will suspend all commercial and private flights from the United Kingdom after a new strain of the virus was discovered.

The suspension goes into effect at midnight.

"Passengers who arrived in Canada today from the United Kingdom are now subject to secondary screening and enhanced measures, including increased scrutiny of quarantine plans. Passengers who arrived recently from the United Kingdom will also receive additional direction from the Government of Canada," the government said in a news release.

Several other nations, including Saudi Arabia and Switzerland, announced U.K. flight suspensions Sunday.


Tennessee governor says state is 'ground zero' for COVID surge

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee gave a passionate plea to his constituents to avoid holiday gatherings as the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise.

The state has around 10,000 Tennesseans getting sick every day, which was three times the numbers at the end of October, the governor said during a news conference Sunday. More than 100 people are dying from the virus daily, Lee said.

"Tennessee is ground zero for a surge in sickness," he said.

Lee warned that the next few weeks will be crucial and urged families to stick to their households during Christmas and New Year's.

“We’ve seen firsthand that Thanksgiving gatherings and extended time indoors have been the leading driver in spreading COVID-19 like wildfire," he said.

Lee signed an order that limited indoor gatherings to 10 people maximum and limited attendance at indoor sporting events.

The governor urged residents to wear masks to stop the spread, however, he did not issue a state wide mask mandate.

-ABC News' Matt Foster contributed to this report.


Congress reaches deal on COVID relief package

Hours before the government was set to shutdown, congressional leaders announced they came to an agreement over a $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill.

A final vote on the spending bill and COVID-19 relief bill will be on Monday in the House, before it heads to the Senate.

Lawmakers agreed to a $300 boost in weekly unemployment benefits, $600 relief checks for individuals, more than $300 billion for small business aid and huge pots of money for schools, hospitals and vaccine distribution.

-ABC News' Mariam Khan and Allison Pecorin contributed to this report.



4 more countries suspend flights from UK

Four more countries announced they will suspend flights from the United Kingdom after a new strain of the coronavirus was discovered in the country.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Interior announced it would suspend all international flights, except in "exceptional cases" for at least one week.

Turkish Health Minister Dr. Fahrettin Koca tweeted his country would temporarily ban all fights from U.K., Denmark, Netherlands and South Africa.

In Switzerland, the Swiss Civil Aviation Authority announced flights from the U.K. and South Africa would be suspended starting at midnight "until further notice."

Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš tweeted that flights to and from the U.K. would be suspended from midnight to at least Jan. 1

-ABC News' Dragana Jovanovic and Aicha El Hammar Castano contributed to this report