Health News (Reuters)

Beijing reported 11 new imported cases of coronavirus as of noon on March 18, according to the city's Health Commission, as imported cases in China outnumbered local transmissions for the fifth straight day.

China's central Hubei province will transfer all arrivals from abroad who show no risks of coronavirus infection to a central quarantine facility for 14 days, reported state media on Wednesday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that Middle East states need to offer more information about coronavirus cases to help bolster the fight against the disease across the region.

A total of 276 Indians have tested positive for coronavirus overseas to date, an Indian government minister said on Wednesday.

Most of Singapore's wholesalers and retailers received their supply of fresh food even after neighboring Malaysia implemented movement restrictions to stop the spread of the coronavirus, a Singapore minister said on Wednesday.

Confirmed coronavirus cases in Israel have jumped by 40 percent to 427 in the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday, predicting a steeper rise as mass-testing is implemented.

Poland will receive more than 10,000 test kits and tens of thousands of other protective items such as masks, goggles and shoe covers from China to help tackle the coronavirus outbreak, Poland's Foreign Ministry said in a statement late on Wednesday.

France could hope to start seeing a slowdown of coronavirus infections in about eight to 12 days following the government's decision to lock down the country, health minister Olivier Veran said on Wednesday.

Japan is only using a sixth of its capacity to test for the coronavirus even as it is increasing its ability to do so, government data shows, adding to concern it is understating its outbreak and not doing enough to contain it.

Pakistan's prime minister has urged calm after its tally of coronavirus cases rose to 245 while Sri Lanka sealed itself off and shut its stock market on Wednesday, fuelling fears that South Asian countries are struggling to stem the pandemic.

Australian researchers said on Tuesday they have mapped the immune responses from one of country's first coronavirus patients, findings the health minister said were an important step in developing a vaccine and treatment.

Malaysia warned of a fresh wave of coronavirus infections if people did not follow two-week movement restrictions that started on Wednesday after cases in the country spiked to the highest in Southeast Asia.

China's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that the coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 160,000 people globally has exposed shortcomings in the global health system.

The highly contagious novel coronavirus that has exploded into a global pandemic can remain viable and infectious in droplets in the air for hours and on surfaces up to days, according to a new study that should offer guidance to help people avoid contracting the respiratory illness called COVID-19.

Malaysia went into a two-week partial lockdown on Wednesday after coronavirus infections in the country spiked to the highest in Southeast Asia, with some buyers rushing to supermarkets to stock up on essentials like instant noodles.

The South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu which has no confirmed cases of coronavirus is set to ban travel to and from any country with more than 100 cases of COVID-19, as it prepares to go to the polls for a general election on Thursday.

Thailand reported 35 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, taking its total infections to 212, a disease control official said.

Millions of California's Bay area residents can still legally light up as cannabis facilities are exempt from a cornonavirus lockdown that has shuttered most businesses in San Francisco and nearby cities.

Spain announced a 200 billion euros ($220 billion) package on Tuesday to help companies and protect workers and other vulnerable groups affected by the spiraling coronavirus crisis.

Italy's prime minister on Tuesday declared coronavirus was causing a "socio-economic tsunami" as European leaders agreed to seal off external borders, but many countries thwarted solidarity by imposing frontier curbs of their own.