South Korea recorded one more coronavirus-related fatality on Sunday (March 1), bringing the nation’s death toll to 18. It had 376 new cases of infection from a day earlier, which took the total count to 3,526 – the largest in the world outside China.  The latest death was an 83-year-old man in the southeastern city of Daegu, the centre of the country’s outbreak, local news agency Yonhap reported, citing the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

Mainland China reported 573 new confirmed coronavirus-cases on Saturday, up from 427 the previous day, the country's health authority said on Sunday. The number of deaths stood at 35, down from 47 the previous day, bringing the total death toll in mainland China to 2,870.

A health official in Iran told state television on Saturday that 43 people were now confirmed dead from coronavirus in the Islamic Republic, and that the country had 593 cases. Number of deaths in Iran is highest across globe after China.  The total number of infections in Italy is 1,128, with 29 virus-linked deaths.

US and Australia reported the first deaths of Corona virus in their countries. Ireland, Ecuador and Qatar reported their first cases of infection.

The World Health Organization has increased its Covid-19 risk assessment to “very high at a global level,” as nearly 50 countries report cases within their borders.