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China's financial center of Shanghai reported three new coronavirus infections on Friday, in Chinese nationals who caught the virus abroad, the official People's Daily of the ruling Communist Party said.

China's central province of Hubei, excluding the provincial capital Wuhan, reported zero new cases of coronavirus over 24 hours for the first time during the outbreak, as authorities continued to contain imported infections in other parts of the country.

First, the food buffet was shut down as gloved staff scurried about wiping every surface in sight. Then the ocean liner's gym, bar, casino and boutiques were closed, with passengers urged to keep to themselves. Finally, they were confined to their staterooms.

South Korea issued a strongly worded protest on Friday against Japan's decision to quarantine South Korean visitors for two weeks, as coronavirus containment measures ignited a fresh diplomatic row between the Asian nations.

Vice President Mike Pence traveled to the state of Washington on Thursday to pledge federal support to one of the areas hardest hit by the coronavirus and defended President Donald Trump's response amid tension with the state's governor over science.

The coronavirus spreading around the world from China is "starting to look like a global pandemic," said Singapore minister Lawrence Wong, who co-heads the country's virus fighting taskforce.

The coronavirus outbreak spread further across the United States on Thursday, cropping up in at least four new states and San Francisco as Congress quickly approved more than $8 billion to fight the outbreak and Americans faced increasing disruptions to their daily lives.

Japanese star swimmer Rikako Ikee, who stunned fans last year with news she was battling leukemia, has launched an urgent appeal for people to give blood after steps to curb the spread of coronavirus led to a sharp drop in donations.

Australia ordered its first school closure on Friday after a 16-year-old pupil tested positive for the coronavirus, as the country's prime minister warned the public bill for treating infected patients could top A$1 billion ($661 million).

Airlines have been suspending flights or modifying services in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

The outbreak is getting ever closer to the nerve centers of the world's financial system. HSBC bank has sent more than 100 staff in London home after a worker tested positive for the coronavirus, the first known case at a major company in Europe's main financial hub.

A growing number of countries around the world have been evacuating or planning to evacuate diplomatic staff and citizens from areas hit by the new coronavirus.

A person in New Zealand confirmed to have been infected was revealed on Friday to have attended a rock concert packed with thousands of other people.

Facebook Inc on Thursday removed ads by President Donald Trump's re-election campaign that asked users to fill out an "Official 2020 Congressional District Census" because the ads violate the company's policy against misinformation on the government's census.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on the powerful judiciary committee on Thursday introduced a bill aimed at curbing online distribution of child sexual abuse material that technology and civil liberties groups said was an attack on strong encryption critical to billions of people.

The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed and sent to President Donald Trump an $8.3 billion funding bill to help state and local governments combat the spreading coronavirus, as public health experts outlined efforts to rapidly accelerate testing for the disease.

South Korea strongly protested on Friday Japan's decision to impose a two-week quarantine for visitors from South Korea, calling it "unreasonable, excessive and extremely regrettable".

For one South Korean multinational company that makes smartphone components used by Apple Inc and LG Electronics Inc , the coronavirus epidemic is dealing blow after blow.

Pfizer Inc is considering a collaboration with German drugmaker BioNTech SE to develop vaccines for the coronavirus using BioNTech's mRNA-based drug development platform, Pfizer's R&D head told Reuters on Thursday.

Twitter Inc Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey said on Thursday he is reconsidering a proposed stint in Africa this year due to coronavirus concerns, walking back his plans amid a call by activist investor Elliott Management for his ouster.