Global spread of coronavirus raises pandemic fears

"I was surprised by this explosion of cases," Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told state broadcaster RAI, warning numbers would likely rise in the coming days."We will do everything we can to contain the contagion."Almost a dozen towns in Lombardy and Veneto with a combined population of about 50,000 have effectively been placed under quarantine as authorities struggled to find out how the outbreak started.

Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said a coronavirus task force would meet on Monday to discuss whether to introduce border controls with Italy. Seoul raised its infectious disease alert to its highest level on Sunday after Daegu city and Cheongdo county - where infections surged last week - were designated"special care zones" on Friday.The escalation in the alert level allows the government to send extra resources to Daegu and Cheongdo county, forcibly prevent public activities and order the temporary closure of schools, the health ministry said.

Iran, which announced its first two cases on Wednesday, said it had confirmed 43 cases and eight deaths, with most of the infections in the Shi'ite Muslim holy city of Qom. The outbreak has spread to about 28 other countries and territories, with a death toll of around two dozen, according to a Reuters tally.

Xi highlighted the importance of fighting the epidemic in the capital Beijing, which has recently required people arriving from elsewhere in China to be quarantined at home for 14 days.

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