The World Health Organisation also said that the number of new cases reported outside China on Tuesday exceeded the number of new cases in China for the first time. "The sudden increases of cases in Italy, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Korea are deeply concerning," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday, local time. In other developments overnight, Australian time: Brazil confirmed a coronavirus infection, the first in Latin America

Pakistan reported its first two coronavirus cases, while Greece confirmed its first

The number of infections on Tenerife climbed to four after two more Italians at a quarantined hotel were found to have the virus

France reported its second death from the virus

The Ireland v Italy Six Nations match was postponed amid the rise in European cases

Italy recorded 52 new infections on Wednesday, while South Korea announced 284 new cases, largely in Daegu

Infections worldwide jumped to almost 81,000, with more than 2,700 deaths, mainly in China. 'It's a question of when'

In the United States, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has urged Americans to prepare, saying that while the immediate risk there was low, the global situation suggested a pandemic was likely. "It's not a question of if. It's a question of when and how many people will be infected," the CDC's principal deputy director, Anne Schuchat, said. The United States has reported 57 cases of the virus. President Donald Trump blamed the media for "doing everything possible" to make the coronavirus "look as bad as possible," even as he said his administration was "doing a great job". Trump is due to hold a press conference on Thursday morning, Australian time, to discuss the virus with officials from the CDC.

Virus spreads to Latin America Brazil's Health Ministry on Wednesday confirmed the first case of the fast-spreading virus in Latin America, diagnosing a 61-year-old man in Sao Paulo who had returned recently from Italy. The diagnosis comes during Brazil's carnival holiday, a peak time for domestic travel when millions of revellers throng to major cities for raucous street celebrations. The patient, a Sao Paulo resident, had travelled to Lombardy, in northern Italy, from February 9 to February 21. The man had hosted about 30 family members at his home after returning to Sao Paulo on February 21. Those people are under observation, as are with passengers from the plane he travelled on.

Olympic worries as South Korea cases jumps again The WHO says the outbreak peaked in China around February 2, after authorities isolated Hubei province and imposed other containment measures. China's National Health Commission reported another 406 new infections on Wednesday, down from 508 a day earlier and bringing the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China to 78,064. Its death toll rose by 52 to 2715. South Korea, which with 1261 cases has the most outside China, reported 284 new ones including a US soldier, as authorities readied an ambitious plan to test more than 200,000 members of a church at the centre of the outbreak. Of the new cases, 134 were from Daegu city, where the virus is believed to have been passed among members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The US military said a 23-year-old soldier based in Camp Carroll, about 20 kilometres from Daegu, had been infected and was in self-quarantine at home. Left: Officials wearing protective attire work to diagnose people with suspected symptoms at a hospital in Daegu. Right: Workers disinfect subway trains in Tehran on Wednesday morning. Credit:AP In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for sports and cultural events to be scrapped or curtailed for two weeks to stem the virus as concern mounted for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Japan's professional baseball teams will play matches without spectators until March 15 due to virus concerns, Kyodo news agency reported. Japan has nearly 170 virus cases and 691 linked to a cruise ship that was quarantined this month. Six people have died in Japan, including four from the ship.

Iran raises death toll to 19 There have been nearly 50 deaths outside China, including 11 in Italy and 19 in Iran, the most outside China, according to a Reuters tally. Iran's deputy health minister – seen mopping his brow at a televised news conference – was among its 139 coronavirus infections. Cases linked to Iran have been reported across the region. President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran had no immediate plans to quarantine cities, while also acknowledging it may take "one, two or three weeks" to get control of the virus in the Islamic Republic, linked to most of the over 200 confirmed cases of the virus now spread across the Mideast. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video

"Coronavirus must not be turned into a weapon for our enemies to halt work and production in our country," Rouhani said, according to a transcript posted to the Iranian presidency's website. Experts remain concerned that Iran may be underreporting cases and deaths, given the rapid spread from Iran across the Persian Gulf. Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani, a hard-line lawmaker in Iran alleged Monday there had been 50 deaths in the Iranian city of Qom alone, which was denied by authorities. In Kuwait, six new coronavirus cases were reported, all linked to travel to Iran, took its tally to 18, while Bahrain said its infections had risen to 26 after three new ones on a flight from Iran. France reports second death

In Europe, Italy has become a front line in the global outbreak with 322 cases. Italians or people who had recently visited the country have tested positive in Algeria, Austria, Croatia, Romania, Spain and Switzerland. Loading France, with 17 cases, reported its second death - a 60-year-old man who was among three new cases of the virus announced in the country on Wednesday. One of the others was a 36-year-old man who had made repeated trips to the Italian region of Lombardy, but he doesn't have any severe symptoms, the head of France's national health service, Jerome Salomon, said. The other is a Frenchman in the northern city of Amiens who is in intensive care, and an investigation is underway into where and how he contracted the virus, Salamon said.

Meanwhile, authorities in western Germany said that a man who contracted COVID-19 is in a critical condition and has been taken to a specialist hospital in Duesseldorf. This comes as officials in neighbouring Austria sealed off an apartment complex in the southern town of Bad Kleinkirchheim, where a 56-year-old female tourist from Italy with a possible infection died overnight. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Spain counted five active cases: a woman in Barcelona who had been in Lombardy in recent days, and a doctor from northern Italy and his partner who were holidaying in the Canary Islands, along with two more Italians who were travelling with them. The hotel where they were staying, the H10 Adeje Palace in Tenerife, was locked down after they tested positive for the virus and 1000 tourists prevented from leaving, according to Spanish news media and town officials in Adeje.