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12.22am GMT
The leader of a north Georgia megachurch who has been a spiritual adviser to President Donald Trump has tested positive for Covid-19, AP reports.
Jentezen Franklin, the senior pastor of Free Chapel in Gainesville was absent from Sunday services, news outlets reported.
Pastor Javon Ruff announced the diagnosis during Free Chapel’s Sunday service, held both in-person and streamed live.
“We want to make you aware that Pastor Franklin has come in contact with COVID, but he is doing perfectly fine. He actually is doing great,” Ruff said. “He went and got tested and his test came back positive so he is doing the right thing to do and staying quarantined and continuing to be distanced. We’ll continue to pray and lift him up.”
The diagnosis came within days of Franklin attending a Christmas party at the White House. On Tuesday, Franklin posted on Instagram a photo of himself and his daughter at a White House Christmas party.
12.10am GMT
Some good news from Australia this morning, where the state of New South Wales – home to Sydney – has recorded 15 new cases of Covid-19 since 8pm last night – all are linked to an existing cluster on the city’s northern beaches.
This figure is down from the 30 new cases yesterday, as people in the northern beaches or with family their await news of what Christmas might look like for them.
More than 38,000 people came forward to get tested, so thank you so much to everybody who did that.
Continue reading…France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Ireland, Bulgaria impose UK bans over new strain; Democrat Chuck Schumer says aid bill ‘should’ have votes to pass. Follow latest updatesEuropean states ban travel from UK as new Covid strain takes holdWhat we know so far of UK travel bansWhat do we know about the fast-spreading Covid variant in UK?Moderna vaccine shipments begin as US reels under Covid surgeSee all our coverage 12.22am GMTThe leader of a north Georgia megachurch who has been a spiritual adviser to President Donald Trump has tested positive for Covid-19, AP reports. Jentezen Franklin, the senior pastor of Free Chapel in Gainesville was absent from Sunday services, news outlets reported.Pastor Javon Ruff announced the diagnosis during Free Chapel’s Sunday service, held both in-person and streamed live.“We want to make you aware that Pastor Franklin has come in contact with COVID, but he is doing perfectly fine. He actually is doing great,” Ruff said. “He went and got tested and his test came back positive so he is doing the right thing to do and staying quarantined and continuing to be distanced. We’ll continue to pray and lift him up.”The diagnosis came within days of Franklin attending a Christmas party at the White House. On Tuesday, Franklin posted on Instagram a photo of himself and his daughter at a White House Christmas party. 12.10am GMTSome good news from Australia this morning, where the state of New South Wales – home to Sydney – has recorded 15 new cases of Covid-19 since 8pm last night – all are linked to an existing cluster on the city’s northern beaches. This figure is down from the 30 new cases yesterday, as people in the northern beaches or with family their await news of what Christmas might look like for them. More than 38,000 people came forward to get tested, so thank you so much to everybody who did that. Continue reading…