More than 100,000 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus disease globally, according to Johns Hopkins University - with at least 3,015 deaths in China and 267 fatalities in other parts of the globe, most of them in Italy and Iran.
At least 1,200 of the new infections are in Iran in just the past 24 hours, the country's biggest jump since the outbreak began. Iran's health ministry on Friday noted that 124 people have died.
In France, 200 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed overnight, while India and South Korea also reported an increase in the number of infections.
Additionally, the death toll in the United States from the coronavirus rose to 12 when King County in the state of Washington reported the latest death on Thursday.

Saturday, March 7

10:31 GMT - Vietnam records a new case after three weeks

Following a swift response by the government in Vietnam where the first 16 people who tested positive for the coronavirus fully recovered, the country registered its 18th case. 
The Ministry of Health confirmed that a 27-year-old patient who had been to the South Korean city of Daegu, returned to Vietnam on a Vietject flight on Wednesday and was quarantined upon his landing. 
The day before, Hanoi authorities reported the country's first case in three weeks after a woman returned to the Vietnamese capital from Europe. 
Police is now in the process of verifying the 201 passengers and 16 crew members on board the 26-year-old woman's flight. All the streets in the area where the women lives have been closed and disinfected. 

09:38 GMT - Maldives islands locked down

Three islands in the Maldives have been locked down after several foreign nationals were feared to have contracted the new coronavirus, according to health officials.
Two tourists from Italy were staying on Kuredu resort, an island off the capital, Male, and were due to be shifted to a quarantine facility for treatment. Summer Island in Kaafu Atoll was also placed in lockdown after two French tourists showed symptoms.
Thinadhoo island was also in lockdown after it became known that an Italian tourist who stayed there tested positive after returning home. A doctor working on the island has also shown symptoms of the virus and was transferred to a quarantine facility.
Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Friday decided to ban all passengers from Italy as well as those who travelled to the European country within the past 14 days.

08:53 GMT - Iranian MP dies: Tasnim

Fatemeh Rahbar, who was recently re-elected as a member of Iran's parliament, has died from the new coronavirus, according to Tasnim news agency.
The semi-official news agency said Rahbar, 55, had spent two days in coma in a hospital in the capital, Tehran.

08:23 GMT - South Korea reports 274 new cases

The total number of people infected in South Korea has risen to 7,041, as the country confirmed 274 more cases.
The announcement came hours after South Korean authorities had reported 483 new cases of infections.

08:11 GMT - Philippines confirms community transmission

The health ministry of the Philippines said it had confirmed its first case of community transmission for the new coronavirus, prompting officials to call on the president to declare a public health emergency to contain its spread.
The case involves a 62-year-old male Filipino who had not travelled abroad recently. His 59-year-old wife has also been infected, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the country to six, the health ministry said, adding that both are being treated at a government hospital.
The health ministry declared a code red alert which calls on medical professionals to be prepared to report for duty and recommended that President Rodrigo Duterte declare a public health emergency to help with the procurement of critical supplies as well as with quarantine measures.
"This is a pre-emptive call to ensure that national and local governments and public and private healthcare providers can prepare for possible increase in suspected and confirmed cases," Health Secretary Francisco Duque told reporters.

07:56 GMT - Qatar reports 12th case

Qatar's Ministry of Public Health announced the country's twelfth case: a Qatari citizen who returned from Iran recently who was subjected to quarantine upon his arrival.
The patient is in stable condition, the ministry said in a statement, adding that the infected person "has not had contact with community members since his arrival".
"The risk of outbreaks of the disease in the wider community in Qatar is still low," the statement noted.

07:34 GMT - China trade takes major hit

China's exports fell by double digits in the first two months of the year as anti-virus controls closed factories, while imports sank by a smaller margin.
Overseas shipments tumbled 17.2 percent from a year earlier to $292.4bn, a sharp reverse from December's 7.8 percent rise, customs data showed. Imports declined 4 percent to $299.5bn, down from the previous month's 16.3 percent gain.
Trade was poised for a boost after Beijing and Washington removed punitive tariffs on some of each other’s goods in a trade truce signed in January. But that was offset by Chinese anti-virus controls that shut down much of the world’s second-largest economy in late January.
Exports to the US plunged 27.7 percent in January and February to $43bn, worsening from December's 12.5 percent decline. Imports of US goods crept up 2.5 percent to $17.6bn, but China still recorded a $25.4bn trade surplus with the US.
China’s global trade balance fell to a $7.1bn deficit for the first two months of the year.

07:15 GMT - US tourist is Costa Rica's first coronavirus case

A US woman on a tourist trip to Costa Rica has tested positive for the coronavirus, the first confirmed case in Central America, the country's health minister has announced.
The 49-year-old woman had contracted the virus before entering the country on March 1, Health Minister Daniel Salas said, according to the AFP news agency.
The woman is currently "in strict isolation" in a hotel in the capital San Jose with her husband, who Salas said had contact with people in New York who had tested positive for the virus.
"The man has not manifested symptoms. The lady has, but they are very mild flu symptoms, diarrhea and abdominal pain," the minister told a news conference hosted jointly with President Carlos Alvarado.

04:00 GMT Saturday - Florida: 2 dead after testing positive for coronavirus

Florida health officials has announced that two people who tested positive for the new coronavirus have died in the state.
The Florida Department of Health said the two people who died were in their 70s and had travelled overseas.
One was a man with underlying health issues in Santa Rosa County, in Florida's Panhandle, according to the statement. It added that the second death was that of an elderly person in Lee County, in the Fort Myers area.
The statement did not indicate where the two had travelled.
As of Friday, Florida authorities said seven people in the state have tested positive for coronavirus.

02:54 GMT Saturday - US raises travel alert levels for Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan

The US State Department has raised its alert level for travel to Azerbaijan, warning Americans to reconsider travel there due to a coronavirus outbreak and response measures implemented by the country's government.
The State Department also raised its alert level for travel to Turkmenistan due to travel restrictions and quarantine procedures instituted in response to the virus.
Neither country has reported many cases but both border Iran, which has been hard hit by the coronavirus.
The US State Department slapped a travel advisory warning on Iran last month, urging Americans not to travel there.

02:25 GMT Saturday - South Korea confirms 483 new coronavirus cases, taking total to 6,767

South Korea on Saturday reported 483 additional coronavirus cases from late on Friday, taking the national tally to 6,767, Yonhap news agency quoted the Korea Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (KCDC) as saying.
The death toll also rose to 46 from 44, Kwon Jun-wook, the KCDC deputy director told a briefing.
Most of the cases of infections were traced from a religious sect in Daegu, a city of 2.5 million people.
South Korea - coronavirus

01:38 GMT Saturday - 2 US health screeners at LAX positive for coronavirus

Two federal health screeners at Los Angeles International Airport have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to an email sent to their colleagues late on Friday, according to a Reuters report on Saturday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees were conducting secondary screenings of passengers arriving from overseas, including from China, and have been directed to self-quarantine until March 17, the email said.
"At this time, we cannot confirm where these two screeners were exposed," said the email, which was sent by a senior CDC official.
"Let us keep our colleagues in our thoughts during this period."

00:56 GMT Saturday - AIPAC lobby group says 2 attendees of conference tested positive for coronavirus

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee lobbying group, also known as AIPAC, reported late on Friday that two attendees of its recent conference in Washington, DC have tested positive for the coronavirus.
The group earlier this week hosted a conference attended by Vice President Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

00:22 GMT Saturday - China reports 28 new deaths, 99 new confirmed cases

China's National Health Commission reported on Saturday at least 28 new coronavirus deaths as of the end of Friday, bringing to 3,070 the death toll nationwide.
The government also reported 99 new confirmed cases on March 6, down from 143 the previous day, with a total of 80,651 cases nationwide. Most of the new cases and deaths were from Hubei, the epicentre of the outbreak in China.
Meanwhile on Friday, China's health agency reported that at least 53,726 people have recovered and have been discharged from hospital.
China - coronavirus

23:17 GMT Friday - G20 pledges monetary actions in coronavirus response

G20 finance ministers and central bank governors on Friday pledged to take "appropriate" fiscal and monetary measures in responding to the coronavirus outbreak and to protect economic growth against shocks, according to Reuters news agency.
In a joint statement issued by G20 chair Saudi Arabia, the ministers, who met in Riyadh last month, said they welcomed measures and plans already put forward by countries to support economic activity.
"We are ready to take further actions, including fiscal and monetary measures, as appropriate, to aid in the response to the virus, support the economy during this phase and maintain the resilience of the financial system," the group said.

22:13 GMT Friday - Second coronavirus death confirmed in England

A second patient in England who tested positive for coronavirus has died, the United Kingdom's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty confirmed. The patient was being treated at Milton Keynes University Hospital and had underlying health conditions.

22:05 GMT Friday - South by Southwest cancelled

The city of Austin in the US has cancelled the March dates for SXSW, or South by Southwest, and SXSW EDU.
"We are devastated to share this news with you. 'The show must go on' is in our DNA, and this is the first time in 34 years that the March event will not take place. We are now working through the ramifications of this unprecedented situation," organisers said. 
The event, held in Texas, is one of the world's biggest international music festivals and showcases talent from dozens of countries, styles and traditions.
In 2019, more than 400,000 people attended the festival.
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