Coronavirus news you may have missed overnight: One of England's largest NHS trusts cancels operations, as nearly half a million Americans test positive in a week

Leeds hospital announces measure as Covid-19 patient numbers jump 30 per cent

Coronavirus has now infected around 917,500 people in the UK, as Nottingham prepares to join other areas in England under the toughest restrictions.

More than 45,300 have died within one month of a positive test, according to government data - which showed on Tuesday the highest daily rise in the number of deaths since May.

Catch up on the coronavirus news you may have missed overnight:

Leeds hospital cancels operations

One of the largest NHS trusts in England has become the latest to announce it is being forced to cancel operations amid coronavirus.

It comes after the number of coronavirus cases at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust jumped 30 per cent over the weekend.

Bosses said the numbers of Covid patients on its wards on Tuesday was higher than the peak of the first wave in April.

In a statement the trust confirmed “only essential operations” were taking place.

Government accused of throwing ‘lit match into haystack’ over care home policy

The government has been warned it is throwing “a lit match into a haystack” by discharging Covid-positive patients to care homes.

Politicians have demanded the safety of residents and staff is guaranteed under the new policy.

 Around 16,000 care home deaths have been linked to Covid-19 since the start of the crisis.

People in self-isolation must be checked ‘every day’, says WHO

People self-isolating need to be monitored “every day” if Covid-19 is to be tamed, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said – urging Boris Johnson to be much tougher.

Another lockdown could be avoided, a spokesperson for the WHO said, but only if the UK and other European countries provide far more help to those affected, and ensured they complied.

Margaret Harris said those told to self-isolate “need to hear from authorities every day” to give them “a sense that they really are in a special situation”. 

Nearly half a million Americans test positive in week

Last week, almost 500,000 people in the US tested positive for Covid-19, according to data from Reuters.

Meanwhile, more than 5,600 died from coronavirus, and hospitalisations increased by 13 per cent.

As predicted by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the World Health Organisation, coronavirus numbers are climbing in the US as we move deeper into autumn.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology developing ’heated face masks’

Researchers are developing a new “heated face mask” that they believe could be effective at killing coronavirus and allowing wearers to breathe medically sterile air.

Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have submitted a patent for a prototype mask with a heated copper mesh.

The researchers believe that the mesh in the masks will slow and inactivate any viral particles in the air.