Isolating sooner might have avoided first lockdown, Hunt says

SINGAPORE — Singapore’s latest spike in Covid cases may be starting to peak — but the public needs to stay up to date on vaccinations, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung told CNBC on Thursday. Singapore reported 56,043 Covid cases in the week of Dec. 3 to 9, marking a 75% surge compared to the week…

Cases of whooping cough are rising rapidly in Wales for the first time in five years.

A family of five was hospitalized with carbon monoxide poisoning in Portland, Oregon, on Sunday, according to local reports. Investigators said the poisoning was the result of the family’s use of a generator and cooking with propane inside an apartment. “Someone called 911 because a child approximately 8 years old was found lying in the…

WASHINGTON — Amid tensions in the Middle East, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was hospitalized, including spending four days in the intensive care unit, according to two senior administration officials. The Pentagon did not inform senior officials in the White House’s National Security Council of Austin’s hospitalization until Thursday — three days after he arrived…

Bristol Myers Squibb on Friday announced it agreed to buy biopharmaceutical company Karuna Therapeutics for $14 billion in cash, or $330 per share. Karuna’s stock closed up more than 47% on the news Friday, hitting $317.85 a share. Bristol Myers Squibb shares closed up 2%. The deal will help expand Bristol Myers’ drug pipeline after…

As the old Wall Street adage goes, health care tends to underperform the stock market in presidential election years — and in recent cycles, that’s been true. But, there’s reason to believe this year that many health-related stocks, led by Eli Lilly , could defy historical convention. The S & P 500 Health Care Sector…