ThenumberofcasesofthenovelcoronavirusontheChinesemainlandhassurpassed 81-thousand.
Over 5,000 ofthemarestillbeingtreated, whilemorethan 72-thousandothershavebeendischargedafterrecovery.
46 newconfirmedcasesonthemainlandwerereportedonSaturday.
NationalHealthCommissionspokespersonMiFengsaysmostofthemwereimportedfromabroad.
"From 12 a. m. onSaturdayto 12 a. m. onSunday, 45 newconfirmedcasesimportedfromabroadwerereported, including 14 inShanghai, 13 inBeijing, seveninGuangdong, fourinFujian, twoinJiangsu, andoneeachinHebei, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, ShandongandSichuan, respectively."
Sofar, morethan 300 importedcasesofinfectionhavebeenreportedontheChinesemainland.
TheonlynewindigenouscasereportedonthemainlandonSaturdaywasinGuangdong, involvingapersonwhowasincontactwithoneoftheseimportedcases.
AtopWorldHealthOrganizationexpertsaysitwilltakeatleastayeartodevelopavaccineforthecoronavirus.
WHOExecutiveDirectorMikeRyanurgedgovernmentstoputinplacestrongpublichealthmeasurestopreventaresurgenceofcoronavirusoutbreaksinthefuture.
"Ifwedon'tputinplacestrongmeasures, strongpublichealthmeasuresnow, whenthosemovementrestrictionsandlockdownsareliftedthedangeristhatthediseasewilljumpbackup. Weneedtoactivelysearchforcasesofthevirusandweneedtotestverysinglesuspectcase. Wedon'tneedtotesteverybody. Weneedtofocusontestingthosewhomayhavethevirus."
Anumberofcountrieshaveintroduceddrasticrestrictionsincludingtravelbans, schoolclosuresandstayhomeorderstofightthecoronavirusspread.
RyansaysChina, SingaporeandSouthKoreahaveprovidedamodelforothercountries, whererestrictionswerecoupledwithrigorousmeasurestotestsuspectedinfectioncases.
TheIranianhealthministrysaysnearly 17 hundredpeopleinthecountryhavediedofCOVID-19.
Officialsalsosayover 21 thousandhavebeeninfectedwiththenovelcoronavirusandclosetoeightthousandhaverecovered.
Earlier, theIranianauthoritiesorderedtheclosureofcommercialcenters, exceptconveniencestoresandpharmacies.
Iranisoneofthecountrieshardest-hitbythevirus.
Chinasentafive-memberexpertteamtoTehranattheendofFebruarytohelpcontrolandpreventthespreadofthevirus.
GermanChancellorAngelaMerkelhasheldabriefingonmeasurestocombatthespreadofthenewcoronavirus.
Merkelwillgointoquarantineherselfafterbeinginformedthatadoctorwhoadministeredavaccinetohertestedpositiveforthevirus.
Merkelsaysfederalandstateauthoritieshaveagreedtoextendthemeasuresintendedtoslowthespreadofthenewcoronavirus.
"Thefederalgovernmentandthefederalstateshaveagreedtoextendtheguidelinesregardingthebehaviourandfreedomofmovement, whichareapplicabletoeveryone. Wethereforeconsistentlyreducepubliclifeandsocialcontacts, andwemakesurethatthesamerulesapplyacrossthecountry."
Thenewcountry-widemeasuresincludereducingthecontactbetween
U.S. SenatorRandPaulhasbecomethefirstmemberoftheupperchambertotestpositiveforthecoronavirus.
ApostonhisofficialTwitteraccountstatedthatheisfeelingfineandisinquarantine.
TheRepublicanSenator'stweetfurthersayshe'sasymptomaticandthathewastestedasaprecautionduetohisextensivetravelandevents.
Lastweek, twomembersofthehouse–RepublicanMarioDiaz-BalartandDemocratBenMcAdams — testedpositiveforthevirus.
DatafromJohnsHopkinsUniversityshowsthatthecountry'sconfirmedCOVID-19 caseshavesurpassed 31-thousandwith 390 deaths.
AirportauthoritiesinSanFranciscosaymajorChineseairlinesareresuminglimitedflightsbetweenChinaandtheUScity.
TheairlinesincludeAirChina, ChinaEasternandChinaSouthern.
AirChina'sBeijingrouteisbackinoperation, thoughitsfrequencyhasnotyetbeenfinalized, andChinaSouthernisonceagainflyingbetweenGuangzhouandSanFrancisco. ChinaEasternwillresumeadailyShanghaiflightonMarch 29.
Airportofficialssayalthoughtheseairlinesareresuminglimitedservice, alltraveladvisories, restrictionsonentry, andarrivalscreeningproceduresremainineffect.