Italy has announced an unprecedented quarantine on its northern region of Lombardy and other badly affected areas on Sunday, impacting some 16 million people, as it steps up efforts to tackle Europe's largest outbreak of coronavirus.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte early on Sunday issued a decree that severely restricts the movement of individuals in the northern region and surrounding areas in a move that came as the country is struggling the contain the virus' spread, with the number of cases rising by 1,247 in the last 24 hours.
Another 36 people also died as a result of the virus, taking the total to 233.
In other recent developments, the number of people diagnosed with the new coronavirus now exceeds 100,000 worldwide, with several new countries reporting their first cases.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called the spread of the virus "deeply concerning".
07:20 GMT - US cruise ship allowed to dock in Oakland
The coronavirus-stricken Grand Princess cruise ship has been given the green light to dock in Oakland, the tour operator said in a statement.
"Grand Princess will proceed to the Port of Oakland on Sunday to begin disembarking guests who require acute medical treatment and hospitalization," the Princess Cruises tour company said.\
"Guests who are California residents will go to a federally operated facility within California for testing and isolation, while non-Californians will be transported by the federal government to facilities in other states.
"The vessel, which has been stranded off the California coast for four days, recorded 21 cases on board, including 19 crew and two american passengers.
06:30 GMT - Maldives records first two cases
The Maldives has reported its first cases of the novel coronavirus in two employees working at a tourist resort. They are believed to have caught the disease after coming into contact with an Italian tourist who tested positive upon returning to Italy.
The two people are in a stable condition and have been put in quarantine at a facility outside the capital, Male.
Sunday, March 8
05:55 GMT - Death toll rises to six in China hotel collapse
The death toll in the China hotel collapse has risen to six with 28 still missing, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.
The building in Quanzhou, which was being used to house people under observation for the coronavirus, collapsed on Saturday evening.
As of 11.30am in Beijing (03:30 GMT), rescuers had found 43 people in the rubble - 36 have been sent to hospital while one did not need medical treatment.
05:40 GMT - Malaysia, Thailand bar cruise ship
Thailand and Malaysia have both barred the Costa Fortuna, with about 2,000 people on board including dozens of Italians, from docking at their ports.
Malaysian officials say there are about 64 Italians on board.
The Star, a local newspaper, reported earlier on Sunday that Malaysian ports had banned all cruise ships following a directive from the Ministry of Transport.
The Costa Fortuna is now said to be on its way to Singapore.
05:01 GMT - First case of coronavirus in US capital
A man in his 50s has tested positive for coronavirus in Washington DC, the first case in the US capital.
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser said on Saturday the man started exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 in late February.
He was admitted to a Washington hospital on Thursday and appeared to have no history of international travel and no close contacts to any other confirmed cases in the US, Bowser said.
“With his test yielding presumptive positive, DC Health has started its investigation in keeping with CDC [Centers for Disease Control] guidelines,” Bowser said. The investigation includes tracing the man’s movements, though the mayor declined to say where in Washington the man lived.
04:30 GMT - At least four dead in China quarantine hotel collapse
State media in China say at least four people were killed in the collapse of a hotel in Quanzhou that was being used for coronvirus quarantine.
The Ministry of Emergency Management said five people who had been rescued were in critical or serious condition.
Rescue efforts continue. Some 71 people were thought to have been in the building when it collapsed suddenly on Saturday evening.
03:25 GMT - Italy quarantine will apply to 16 million people; remain until April 3
Italy's prime minister Giuseppe Conte says a strict quarantine will be enforced in the state of Lombardy and 14 other areas in the north that are together home to 16 million people.
"We want to protect the health of all citizens," Conte told a press conference in Rome.
"We are aware that this will create unease and that these measures will be a sacrifice, big and small. But this is the time to be responsible. We should not counter these measures or dodge them, we must think about protecting our health, the health of our beloved ones, the health of our parents but mainly the health of our grandparents."
The quarantine will be the most draconian outside China, which sealed off Hubei province in January.
Nobody will be allowed to move in or out of the designated territories although exceptions will be made for reasons of health, professional needs and "exceptional" cases, Conte said.
02:45 GMT - South Korea to ration face masks
South Korea is to start rationing face masks from Monday, limiting the number each person can buy each week.
South Korea's Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Sunday issued a public message, asking citizens to "actively cooperate" with the efforts to make sure healthcare workers and sick people have access to enough masks.
"Even if you feel inconvenient, I ask you to show a mature sense of civil awareness, based on concessions, consideration and cooperation so that people who really need face masks can buy them," he said, according to Yonhap news agency.
The government has imposed export restrictions on masks and urged factories to increase production.
02:15 GMT - Rescue efforts continue at collapsed hotel in China
Rescue efforts continue at the collapsed hotel in the southeastern city of Quanzhou.
Chinese media say that 49 people had been rescued at 00:20 GMT. About 20 people are thought to remain trapped in the rubble.
The hotel, which opened in 2018 and had 80 rooms, was being used to house people in isolation over the coronavirus.