With 2 More Cases, Pakistan's Coronavirus Infections Rise To 4

The COVID-19 outbreak may become an pandemic with the World Health Organization saying that the novel coronavirus could reach most "if not all countries". WHO raised its global spread and impact risk alert to "very high" as six countries reported their first cases on Friday, reported Reuters. Mexico, Nigeria, Estonia, Denmark, the Netherlands and Lithuania reported their first cases. Mexico became the second Latin American country after Brazil to register the virus.

According to WHO, the virus has now spread to 49 countries ending hopes that the coronavirus would be contained to China. Countries other than China now account for about three-quarters of new infections. While the number of new cases has down in China, countries like South Korea, Italy and Iran are seeing rapid rise in victims. Meanwhile, WHO said in a report that much of the global community is not yet ready to implement the types of measures that have contained the fast-moving coronavirus outbreak in China.

China has placed 56 million people in Hubei under strict quarantine for more than a month and limited crowds across the country in an unprecedented effort to contain the virus. China on Saturday reported 47 more deaths from the new coronavirus, raising the death toll in the country to 2,835. The National Health Commission also tallied 427 new cases, an increase from the previous day, bringing the total number of infections to 79,251.

Meanwhile, South Korea confirmed 594 more coronavirus cases on Saturday, the biggest increase to date for the country and taking the national total to 2,931 infections with three additional deaths. Meanwhile, the death toll in Italy, the worst-hit in Europe, has risen to 21. There are 820 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 so far.

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The US Centre for Disease Control has confirmed two new cases in California in people who have not travelled to affected areas, or had any known contact with infected persons. The US has postponed an ASEAN summit planned for Las Vegas on 14 March over coronavirus fears.

Australia has reported two new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of cases in Australia to 25 while the number of confirmed cases in the UK has reached 20.