Health News (Reuters)

The foreign ministers of South Korea, China and Japan will hold a video conference on Friday to foster cooperation on the coronavirus pandemic, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

Thailand reported 50 new coronavirus infections, taking its tally to 322, a health official said on Friday, with the majority located in Bangkok, the capital.

Iranians will overcome a coronavirus outbreak with unity, President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech on Friday, praising doctors and nurses for their courage in fighting the disease that has killed 1,284 in the Middle East country.

The world's richest nations poured unprecedented aid into the global economy as coronavirus cases ballooned in the new epicentre Europe, with the number of deaths in Italy outstripping those in mainland China, where the virus originated.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday reported 10,491 cases of coronavirus, an increase of 3,404 from its previous count, and said the death toll had risen by 53 to 150, the biggest one-day jump so far.

Tesla Inc said on Thursday it will suspend production at its San Francisco Bay Area vehicle factory on March 24, ending a standoff with California authorities concerned about the spread of the coronavirus.

The first shipments of international medical aid are due to arrive at North Korea's borders this week to shore up its defenses against the coronavirus, but strict border controls could mean the stream of supplies remains a trickle.

Doctors in Seattle have been reduced to making their own face masks out of sheets of plastic, after a global shortage of medical protective gear has hit Washington state, an epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.

The world's wealthiest nations poured unprecedented aid into the traumatized global economy on Thursday as coronavirus cases ballooned in the current epicentre Europe even as they waned at the pandemic's point of origin, China.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has halted activities such as domestic compliance checks and vape shop inspections, the health regulator said on Thursday, as its staff switch to teleworking amid the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak.

The outbreak of disease caused by the new coronavirus has raised questions about a phenomenon known as "herd immunity" and whether it might play a role in how the pandemic progresses.

Mexican officials are dragging their feet on border closures and coronavirus containment measures, in what critics call a high risk strategy driven by bad memories of a shutdown a decade ago that deepened the country's recession during the swine flu epidemic.

The number of registered coronavirus infections in Mexico rose on Thursday to 164 from 118 a day earlier, a senior health ministry official told a news conference.

China's aviation regulator has asked airlines to cut international flights and ordered some Beijing ones to be rerouted, as the country grapples with a rising number of imported coronavirus cases, especially in the capital.

Colombia will block entry to everyone traveling from abroad from midnight on Monday in an effort to control the spread of coronavirus, President Ivan Duque said on Thursday.

Confirmed coronavirus cases in Brazil surged past 600 on Thursday, more than doubling in two days, as a diplomatic spat over the disease's origins between President Jair Bolsonaro's son and the Chinese ambassador threatened relations with Brazil's top trading partner.

Many of Mexico's top banking and financial brass are under quarantine or having to work from home after having attended an annual industry bash at a Pacific getaway last week where at least one participant later tested positive for coronavirus.

Mexico has registered its first death from coronavirus, a 41-year-old diabetic Mexican man whose symptoms began last week, the health ministry said late on Wednesday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday it is not aware of scientific evidence connecting the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including ibuprofen, with worsening COVID-19 symptoms. The agency said it is aware of news reports stating the use of these medicines - commonly used to relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and bring down fever - could worsen the infection caused by the coronavirus. Particularly after France's health minister suggested

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday called on U.S. health regulators to expedite potential therapies aimed at treating COVID-19 amid the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak, saying it could lead to a breakthrough while a vaccine is still under development.