First coronavirus death confirmed in Europe
A Chinese tourist has died in France after contracting the brand new coronavirus - the first fatality from the disease outside Asia.
The victim was an 80-year-old man from China's Hubei province, according to French Health Minister Agnès Buzyn.
He arrived in France on 16 January and was located in quarantine in hospital in Paris on 25 January, she said.
Only three deaths had previously been reported outside mainland China - in Hong Kong, the Philippines and Japan.
The most recent figures issued by the Chinese health authorities on Sunday show another 139 persons dying in worst-hit Hubei, bringing the full total number to have died in China to a lot more than 1,600.
But Hubei also reported 1,843 new cases in the figures issued on Sunday, a drop in the number announced on Saturday. The total number of instances in China because the outbreak stands at more than 68,000.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday that the outbreak in Hubei was now being managed better - "indicating that overall the epidemic is controllable".
Speaking at a security conference in Germany, Mr Wang said the number of individuals who had recovered reached more than 8,000 on Friday.
At the same meeting, the head of the World Health Organization said all countries should be prepared for the arrival of the virus,
What has happened in France?
In late January, France became the first European country to confirm cases of the virus. It has had 11 confirmed cases of the disease, officially called Covid-19. Six persons remain in hospital.
The deceased man have been in a crucial condition in the Bichat hospital in northern Paris, medical minister said. He died of a lung infection because of the coronavirus.
The man's 50-year-old daughter is among the six in hospital with the virus, but she is recovering, Ms Buzyn said.
The other five are British nationals who caught the virus at a chalet in the ski resort of Contamines-Montjoie.
How are other countries affected?
Outside mainland China, there were a lot more than 500 cases in 26 countries.
Earlier, the united states said it was sending a plane to Japan to evacuate Americans stuck on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which is being held in quarantine in a Japanese port.
Some 400 People in america are reported to be on the vessel, according to Japan's NHK broadcaster. People that have symptoms are anticipated to be treated in Japan.
Out of 3,700 persons on board, 285 have now tested positive for the virus. Australia also said it had been considering removing its citizens from the ship.
In another development, an 83-year-old American woman on a cruise liner which docked in Cambodia, has tested positive for the virus after arriving by air in Malaysia.
The MS Westerdam have been turned away by five destinations, including the US island of Guam, before Cambodia agreed it could land.
The girl and her husband were among 145 passengers from the ship who flew to Malaysia after it docked. Both showed symptoms, but he tested negative, the Malaysian health authorities say.
No cases were entirely on board the ship during regular health checks on the 1,455 passengers and 802 crew.
Egypt's health ministry on Friday confirmed the first case of the coronavirus in Africa. The ministry described the individual as a foreigner, but did not disclose their nationality.
In the UK, all except one of nine persons being treated have already been discharged from hospital.
Five new cases have already been confirmed in Singapore, bringing the full total there to 72. Eighteen have fully recovered and also have left hospital.
How is China coping?
Regardless of the spread of the virus, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday that the outbreak in China was now "generally in order".
The foreign minister said outside Hubei province the number of new infections had fallen for 11 consecutive days. He said there had also been a rapid upsurge in the number of folks who had recovered.
However, new figures released on Friday revealed the toll on medical staff in the country. Six health staff have died and 1,716 have been infected since the outbreak, officials said.
Local authorities have struggled to supply protective equipment such as respiratory masks, goggles and protective suits to hospitals in Hubei.
Meanwhile, Beijing has ordered everyone time for the city to get into quarantine for two weeks or risk punishment.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is beginning a study in China this weekend in to the outbreak.
What has the WHO chief been saying?
Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made a plea for international solidarity at a conference in Germany and warned that countries ought to be prepared for the arrival of the virus.
"Relatively little" was allocated to preparedness for a virus outbreak, he said, weighed against preparations for a possible terrorist attack.
"That is frankly difficult to comprehend and dangerously short-sighted," he told an audience at the Munich Security Conference.
Mr Gebreyesus said the outbreak was still a crisis for China and he was worried about the continued rise in cases.
But he rejected criticism of China's efforts to combat the outbreak, saying this was not enough time for recriminations or politicisation.
And he called on governments and social media companies such as for example Facebook and Google to greatly help counter fake news about the epidemic. "We're fighting an 'infodemic'," he said.
