Chinese health authorities reported a decrease in the rate of deaths and new cases of the coronavirus on Saturday.

Outside China, more than 1,200 cases of the virus have been confirmed in 26 countries and there have been at least eight deaths, the WHO says.

Thirty-two British and other European cruise ship passengers are in quarantine in north-west England after arriving back from Japan

Israel refused to allow some 200 non-Israelis to disembark from a plane which had arrived from South Korea, sending them back to Seoul; the 12 Israelis on board were quarantined. Israel suspended all flights from Japan and South Korea on Saturday after confirming its first case of the virus on Friday

Italy reported its second death from the virus - a woman living in the northern region of Lombardy - a day after a 78-year-old man became the first person in Italy to die from the new coronavirus. The country now has nearly 60 cases.

Iran reported its fifth death from the disease, and ordered the closure of schools, universities and cultural centres in 14 provinces. The outbreak is centred on the holy city of Qom but officials warned that the virus may already have spread to "all cities in Iran"

South Korea
Medical officials first announced 142 new cases on Saturday and then hours later increased the number by 87.

In a statement, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said that of the 229 new cases, 95 were related to Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo, which treats the elderly and people with mental health issues. There are now 114 confirmed cases at the hospital - nine staff and 102 patients - it added.

Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said the outbreak had entered "a serious new phase".

He said most of those diagnosed at the hospital had been inpatients for mental illnesses. Some cases showed "no confirmed epidemiological connections", meaning it was not clear how they had contracted the virus, he added.




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