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A conspiracy theory that links 5G mobile telecommunications masts to the spread of the novel coronavirus is dangerous fake news and completely false, Britain said on Saturday after masts in several parts of the country were torched.

Italy reported its lowest daily rise in COVID-19 deaths for nearly two weeks on Saturday and said the number of patients in intensive care had fallen for the first time.

Carrie Symonds, the pregnant fiance of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said she had spent the past week in bed with symptoms of the novel coronavirus but after seven days of rest felt stronger and was on the mend.

Britain took delivery of 300 ventilators from China on Saturday and more will start being produced soon by a consortium of aerospace, engineering and Formula One teams, Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said.

British Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said his thoughts went out to the family of a 5-year-old child who died in hospital after being infected with the novel coronavirus.

It will take a week or two before Britain's social distancing measures start to translate into lower hospitalization rates but there has been a bit of a plateauing in London in recent days, NHS England Medical Director Stephen Powis said.

Confirmed coronavirus cases in Turkey rose by more than 3,000 to 23,934 on Saturday with deaths related to COVID-19 rising by 76 to 501 people, Heath Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter.

Ukraine, which expects a sharp rise of coronavirus cases in the coming weeks, sent doctors to disease-hit Italy on Saturday to assist their Italian colleagues and to gain field experience.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday reported 277,205 cases of coronavirus, an increase of 37,926 cases from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 1,150 to 6,593.

Two of the principal U.S. coronavirus hot spots - New York and Louisiana - reported their biggest jumps in COVID-19 deaths yet on Friday, as the White House sent mixed messages on whether Americans should cover their face if they venture outdoors.

The United Kingdom's death toll from the coronavirus rose by 20% to 4,313 at 1600 GMT on April 3, the health ministry said.

More than 80% of respondents to a Twitter poll initiated by SoftBank Group Corp's CEO Masayoshi Son would support a declaration of a state of emergency to fight the coronavirus, as the number of cases exceeded 100 in Tokyo for the first time on Saturday.

Indonesia said on Saturday that coronavirus cases had topped 2,000 and deaths risen to 191, but doubts have been raised over official figures by data showing a big jump in funerals last month in the capital Jakarta.

Tesla Inc is cutting contractors from its U.S. car and battery plants, CNBC reported on Friday, citing workers and a contract staffing agency.

Australia on Saturday reported more signs that the spread of the novel coronavirus has been stabilising, as New South Wales (NSW) health authorities defended the disembarking in mid-March of a virus-hit cruise ship.

South Korea said on Saturday it will have to extend its intensive social distancing campaign scheduled to end on Monday as concerns about imported coronavirus cases and new outbreaks in small clusters persist.

The U.S. government is now recommending Americans wear cloth face-coverings on a voluntary basis to stem the spread of the coronavirus, President Donald Trump said on Friday, although he said he himself would not use one.

Oscar Valera likes to use 3D printers to build an assortment of crafts, but he is now turning his hobby toward the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

British authorities said on Saturday they were clamping down on bogus cures for the coronavirus, which currently has no specific licensed treatment.

Global cases of the new coronavirus have shot past 1 million with more than 53,000 fatalities, a Reuters tally showed on Friday, as death tolls soared in the United States and western Europe while the world economy nosedived.