Health News (Reuters)

Malaysia is ramping up coronavirus tests in preparation for the "worst scenario", as it grapples with Southeast Asia's highest number of infections, a health ministry official told Reuters.

Taiwan's government on Tuesday announced 20 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total to 215.

Mainland China saw a doubling in new coronavirus cases driven by a jump in infected travellers returning home from overseas, raising the risk of transmissions in Chinese cities and provinces that had seen no new infections in recent days.

Biomérieux, a French healthcare company specialising in diagnostics, said on Tuesday that it had won approval from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for its 'biofire®' product aimed at testing for coronavirus.

Turkey imposed restrictions on Tuesday on grocery store opening hours and numbers of shop customers and bus passengers, adding to steps to combat the spread of the coronavirus after the country's death toll from the illness rose to 37.

Leaders from the Group of 20 major economies will convene a video conference on Thursday to discuss the coronavirus epidemic, multiple sources told Reuters, amid criticism that the group has been slow to respond to the global crisis.

South Korea on Tuesday doubled a planned economic rescue package to 100 trillion won ($80 billion) to save companies hit by the coronavirus and put a floor under crashing stocks and bond markets.

Several months before the coronavirus pandemic began, the Trump administration eliminated a key American public health position in Beijing intended to help detect disease outbreaks in China, Reuters has learned.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern urged New Zealanders on Tuesday to reduce contacts to a bare minimum to help fight the coronavirus, as the country prepared for a one-month lockdown.

Australia reported a jump in coronavirus cases on Tuesday that was almost entirely due to passengers who disembarked a cruise ship in Sydney several days ago, prompting widespread criticism of the official response to the pandemic.

Myanmar reported its first confirmed cases of coronavirus in two men who had recently traveled to the United States and the United Kingdom.

The Health Commission for China's Hubei province said on Tuesday it will remove all travel restrictions in and out of the province on March 25, with the exception of the city of Wuhan, the provincial capital and the epicenter of the country's coronavirus outbreak.

Kyrgyzstan declared a state of emergency on Tuesday in its three biggest cities including the capital Bishkek, a move that will allow authorities to lock them down to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

President Donald Trump said on Monday he is considering how to reopen the U.S. economy when a 15-day shutdown ends next week, even as the highly contagious coronavirus is spreading rapidly and hospitals are bracing for a wave of virus-related deaths.

Nearly one in three Americans was under orders on Sunday to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic as Ohio, Louisiana and Delaware became the latest states to enact broad restrictions, along with the city of Philadelphia.

Australia's most populous state recorded its highest daily rise in coronavirus cases on Tuesday and officials warned of harsher penalties for anybody violating self-isolation orders as the country stepped closer to a full lockdown.

South Korea on Tuesday doubled a planned economic rescue package to 100 trillion won ($80 billion) to save companies hit by the coronavirus and put a floor under crashing stocks and bond markets.

Thailand has recorded 106 new coronavirus cases and three more deaths, a health official said on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to prevent hoarding and price gouging of crucial medical supplies needed to fight the deadly coronavirus, while Attorney General William Barr announced that the Justice Department has already launched hoarding investigations to carry out the order.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been accused of racism in labeling the coronavirus pandemic the "Chinese virus," said on Monday that Asian-Americans were not responsible for spreading the disease and needed to be protected.