US congressional leaders reached agreement on Sunday on a $900 billion package to provide the first new aid in months to an economy and individuals battered by the surging coronavirus pandemic, with votes likely on Monday.

The United States set a new all-time high for coronavirus cases confirmed in a single 24-hour period on Friday, reporting just over 100,000 new infections to surpass the record total of 91,000 posted a day earlier

President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden gave starkly contrasting messages on Saturday about the coronavirus pandemic, taking their campaigns for the White House on the road to swing states where Covid-19 cases are surging again.

The United States edged close to registering 200,000 Covid-19 deaths on Monday, the latest grim milestone for the country just weeks before voters decide if President Donald Trump stays in office.

The United States on Sunday reached the extraordinary milestone of five million coronavirus cases as President Donald Trump was accused of flouting the constitution by unilaterally extending a virus relief package.

US President Donald Trump's national security adviser Robert O'Brien has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, but there is no risk of exposure to Trump or Vice President Mike Pence, the White House said

US deaths from the novel coronavirus neared 140,000 on Saturday as cases continued to rise in 43 out of 50 states over the past two weeks, according to a Reuters tally.

The United States' Covid-19 virus case load is soaring at an explosive rate, even as leaders of some of the worst-hit states resist mandatory mask measures to stem the spread.

Top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci on Monday ascribed the surge in US coronavirus cases to the country's failure to shut down completely, then a rush to reopen too soon, and urged a commitment to guidelines

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday criticized states that reopened their economies before getting the novel coronavirus under control, saying there was "undeniable, irrefutable evidence" those states made a mistake.

The United States recorded a further 1,260 deaths from Covid-19 on Friday, bringing its total to 95,921 since the global pandemic began, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.

The US government's handling of its massive economic response to the coronavirus pandemic will come under scrutiny on Tuesday as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell