- Rising toll: The death toll from the novel coronavirus has risen to 2,698 worldwide, with the vast majority of those in mainland China. The total number of global cases stands at over 80,000.
- New outbreak clusters: South Korea now has more than 890 coronavirus cases nationwide. Europe’s biggest outbreak is in Italy, where seven people have died and there are over 220 infections, with restrictions imposed on some municipalities. Iran has reported at least 60 cases and 12 deaths.
- Preparing for a pandemic: World Health Organization officials say it’s still too early to declare the novel coronavirus a pandemic — but now is the time to prepare.
- Markets tumble: US stocks plunged on mounting worries about the spread of the coronavirus outside China to major economies.
