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Schools and universities will stay closed for a second consecutive week in three northern Italian regions in an effort to contain Europe's worst outbreak of coronavirus, dashing any hopes of a swift return to normality.

Eight more people have died in Italy from coronavirus, the civil protection agency said on Saturday, bringing the total to 29, while the number of those testing positive for the illness jumped by some 240 over the last 24 hours.

The rapid spread of the coronavirus has increased fears of a pandemic, with the World Health Organization (WHO) raising its global spread and impact risk alert to "very high" on Friday.

Washington state health officials reported the first patient death from coronavirus in the United States on Saturday, according to a news release, as federal and local health officials scramble to contain the rapidly spreading disease.

U.S. officials said on Saturday that restrictions on travelers from Iran would be expanded to include any foreign nationals who have visited that country in the last 14 days as part of an effort to curtail the spread of coronavirus in the United States.

Washington state health officials reported the first patient death from coronavirus in the United States on Saturday, according to a news release.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Saturday said it will allow some laboratories to immediately use tests they have developed and validated to achieve more rapid testing capacity for the coronavirus in the country.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday called on the public to cooperate in a "tough battle" to contain the coronavirus outbreak in coming weeks as the country prepares to hold the Olympic Games in Tokyo as planned.

The coronavirus spread further on Friday, with cases reported for the first time in at least six countries across four continents, battering markets and leading the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise its impact risk alert to "very high."

Qatar reported its first case of coronavirus infection in the country on Saturday.

(Reuters Health) - Newborns in the U.S. are much more likely to survive a hospital delivery than a planned home birth, regardless of how qualified the attending midwife may be, a new study suggests.

(Reuters Health) - If doctors prescribed short-acting medications that must be taken twice a day instead of once-a-day extended-release versions, billions in healthcare costs could be saved, a new study suggests.

U.S. public health officials said they have identified four "presumptive" coronavirus cases believed to have emerged from community transmission of the infection, signaling a turning point in efforts to contain the disease in the United States.

Deaths in Iran from coronavirus have hit 43, the highest number outside China, and the total number of infected people has risen to 593, an Iranian health official said on Saturday.

Japanese automaker Toyota plans to build a new electric vehicle plant in the Chinese city of Tianjin with its local partner FAW Group, a document from the local authorities showed.

Of dozens of confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States, only one patient is still in the hospital, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Friday.

Mainland China - excluding Hubei province where the new coronavirus outbreak originated - reported four new cases of infection on Friday, the lowest since the national health authority started compiling nationwide data in January.

South Korea urged citizens on Saturday to stay indoors as it warned of a "critical moment" in its battle on the coronavirus after recording the biggest daily jump in infections, as 813 new cases took the tally to 3,150.

Hedge fund Elliott Management Corp has amassed a stake in Twitter Inc and is pushing for changes, including removal of the social media company's chief executive, Jack Dorsey, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Mexico's government said on Friday it had detected three cases of coronavirus infection in three men who had all recently traveled to Italy, making the country the second in Latin America to register the fast-spreading virus.