France has banned all public gatherings with more than 5,000 people in a confined space, as the number of coronavirus cases there rises and the list of countries hit by the illness climbs.Sporting events and music concerts could be affected as France raised the number of confirmed cases to 100.Five Serie A football games, which were going to be played without fans, have been postponed in Italy, which is struggling to contain a rapid spread in cases.Officials have now confirmed the death toll from the virus has risen to 29 with more than 1,000 others infected.Trump: No reason to panic about virusIn Washington state a person has died of COVID-19, the first such death in the US with another 22 cases of the virus reported.As fears grow of an escalation in the number of US cases, the country is using a federal defence law to boost the production of gloves, masks and gowns.And President Donald Trump has announced an extension of travel restrictions banning foreign nationals from entering the US from Iran and warning against going to badly affected areas of Italy and South Korea.Mr Trump also said officials were discussing bringing in travel restrictions across the southern border of the US.In the German city of Bonn a primary school teaching assistant has reportedly tested positive for the virus, forcing around 185 children to be quarantined at home.Image:China has reported a drop in new casesFour children have also tested positive at a nursery in North Rhine-Westphalia in the district of Heinsberg after their teacher became unwell with the virus.Meanwhile, South Korea has urged its citizens to stay indoors this weekend and warned of a "critical moment" in the coronavirus battle, while the global risk has been raised to the highest level.The country recorded its biggest daily jump in cases and is the worst-hit by the outbreak after China.The 594 cases in the last 24 hours have taken its tally to 2,931."Please stay at home and refrain from going outside and minimise contact with other people," said vice health minister Kim Kang-lip.He urged people to also avoid public events, including religious gatherings.As many as 476 of the new coronavirus cases were from Daegu, a city in North Gyeongsang Province in the country's southeast, where a large religious sect at the centre of the outbreak is located.Tests have been carried out on more than 210,000 members and 65,000 trainees of the fringe Christian group, Shincheonji Church, after a woman known as "patient 31" attended services there before testing positive for COVID-19.About 3,300 had shown symptoms such as fever, said the vice health minister.Some local officials want to press charges against the church and claimed it had refused to give a full list of its members.The group has denied the claim and has complained of "slander and oppression".Inside Wuhan: 'People are terrified'As South Korea battles to contain the outbreak, China - where the virus began - has reported another drop in new cases.On Saturday it reported 427 new cases and 47 deaths over the past 24 hours.
Most were confined to the city of Wuhan - the origin of the outbreak in December - and the surrounding province.The number of patients being discharged is now far more than those being admitted and Wuhan now has more than 5,000 spare beds.How to contain a global pandemicMore than 2,800 people have died from the outbreak in China, with about 79,000 infected.But as more cases are identified outside Asia - including countries such as Nigeria, Ecuador, New Zealand and the Netherlands recording their first cases - the World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised the global risk level for COVID-19 to the highest possible level.Image:Chinese state media depicts the fight against coronavirus as a heroic struggleIt means an "immediate response" - within hours - is required as soon as a COVID-19 case is suspected.WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom warned on Friday that that it would be a "big mistake" to switch from a public health strategy of containment to mitigation - where authorities accept the coronavirus is spreading.The United Nations chief, Antonio Guterres, also urged governments to "do everything possible"."We know containment is possible, but the window of opportunity is narrowing," he told reporters in New York.Coronavirus: How worried should we be?In other developments:More than £200bn wiped off FTSE share index over virus fears84,124 confirmed cases worldwide, with 2,867 deathsMexico, Iceland and Nigeria among nations to confirm first cases on FridaySome UK tourists allowed to leave locked-down Tenerife hotel but Jet2 will not yet fly them homeCalifornia confirms second case in person who had not travelled or had contact with an infected patientIn total, the coronavirus has killed more than 2,900 and infected some 85,000 worldwide in just a few months.Italy is by far Europe's worst-affected country with a number of areas in the north of the country on lockdown, and the prime minister has warned the outbreak could push the country into recession.Schools and universities in the affected regions will remain closed for a second week.An Italian national staying at a hotel in Tenerife which has been placed on lockdown after four cases of the coronavirus were detected has now tested positive for the virus.Image:All British guests at the H10 hotel in Tenerife are being tested for COVID-19The economic repercussions have also seen a nightmare week on world stock markets.More than £200bn was wiped from the UK's FTSE 100 on Friday after the US Dow Jones also suffered its biggest one-day drop this week.COVID-19 has been fatal in 2% of reported cases, with the elderly and ill the most vulnerable, according to WHO.:: Listen to the Daily podcast with Dermot Murnaghan on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, SpreakerThere is no vaccine yet for the new viral infection, which health officials think spreads mainly from droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.The symptoms include fever, coughing and difficulty breathing.Advice is for people to wash their hands with soap and water and avoid close contact with people who are sick.
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