The Australian Government says it is "pandemic ready" but warns "no country is immune" as coronavirus hotspots continue to crop up around the globe.

Key points: The outbreak in Italy has seen the virus spread to other European countries for the first time

The outbreak in Italy has seen the virus spread to other European countries for the first time A Brazilian man has been confirmed as South America's first case

A Brazilian man has been confirmed as South America's first case Iran has been accused of a cover-up while some of China's allies have a relaxed approach

Only two months from the first reported case in China, the death toll now stands at more than 2,700 and there are more than 80,000 recorded cases of the COVID-19 virus around the world — although the vast majority of cases and deaths continue to be concentrated in Hubei province's Wuhan.

Following on the heels of other nations, Australia imposed a travel ban on China with some exemptions despite the World Health Organisation warning such measures would only contribute to "fear and stigma".

This week saw fresh rounds of case spikes in Iran, South Korea, and Italy, while deaths have also been recorded in Japan, the Philippines, France, and Taiwan.

At the time of writing, the deadly virus had reached more than 30 countries.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told a press briefing the Australian Government had exercised "an abundance of caution" and that those measures "have proved to be effective".

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said 15 Australians with COVID-19 had recovered. ( AAP: Mick Tsikas )

"I can confirm that of the 15 cases that had previously been identified here in Australia, that were sourced from Wuhan, all 15 of those patients have now been discharged and have overcome the virus," he said.

Seven other Australians contracted the virus on the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

But as Australia continues to grapple with how to handle the outbreak, other countries — including China's allies and those with frostier diplomatic relations — have responded in different ways.

Iran has highest death toll outside China amid cover-up claims

The coronavirus has claimed the lives of 19 people in Iran — the highest number of coronavirus deaths outside China — with roughly 139 people infected.

Countries around Iran are closing their borders. Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan and Armenia have shut off access, while authorities have cancelled concerts, sport events, and closed schools while urging Iranians to stay at home.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 1 minute 1 m Iran's Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi has quarantined himself at his home

But the virus has already hit senior Iranian officials.

Among the infected is Iran's Deputy Health Minister, Iraj Harirchi. He posted a video on social media on Tuesday confirming he had contracted the virus, while another MP — Mahmoud Sadeghi — also tested positive.

"I don't have a lot of hope of continuing life in this world," he wrote on Twitter.

The high mortality rate in a nation thousands of kilometres from Wuhan has left commentators wondering whether the scale of the virus's spread is being accurately reported by Iranian media.

This week, Iran's MP for Qom — a city just south of Tehran where many cases have been reported — made allegations of a cover-up while claiming "around 50" people had died from the virus, a claim disputed by Iranian health authorities.

Meanwhile, there are fears the virus could spread through key pilgrimage routes — millions of people journey through Qom every year — which could spread the virus further while also impacting on refugees in the region who already lack access to adequate health services.

Indonesia maintains it has zero cases due to 'prayers' despite mass tourism

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 1 minute 1 m Indonesians working on the Diamond Princess pleaded to be evacuated.

In contrast to Iran, Indonesia has yet to report a single case of the novel coronavirus on its shores despite being slow to suspend direct flights from Wuhan to Bali amid the outbreak while hosting 1.3 million Chinese tourists last year.

The regional anomaly has experts questioning quarantine and screening procedures in the world's fourth-most-populous country, with a population of more than 270 million.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported earlier this year Indonesia lacked the right test kits to identify the virus until February.

Meanwhile, when asked how it was possible Indonesia had no confirmed cases, Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto said it came down to faith.

"In medical terms, prayers," he said. "All because of prayers."

But while Indonesia maintains its zero-case status, experts believe it's just a matter of time before cases start appearing across the archipelago.

Meanwhile, in a video provided exclusively to the ABC, Indonesian workers on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan pleaded with President Joko Widodo to evacuate them.

"We're afraid that we're being killed slowly," they said.

"Please don't let us get sick and slowly die from how long it has taken to evacuate us."

North Korea seals border with key ally China amid nutrition fears

People wearing face masks ride on a trolley bus in Pyongyang, North Korea. ( AP: Kyodo News )

Following news of the initial outbreak, Pyongyang wasted no time swiftly shutting its border with China, halting tourism and cancelling its annual marathon.

The 1,500 kilometre border with chief ally China is porous in many parts, allowing for the smuggling of people and goods.

Some observers noted shutting the border was a necessary step to contain the virus, given North Korea's poor health system and rates of malnutrition in its population that could make it vulnerable to infection.

But others have pointed out the border shutdown cuts off access to one of its few allies and economic lifelines — Foreign Policy highlights more than 90 per cent of North Korea's trade is with China.

State media reported 380 foreigners — mostly diplomats in Pyongyang — were put under quarantine.

One South Korean media outlet reported an official had been executed for breaching quarantine, but such reports can prove unreliable and could not be independently verified.

But for a hermit state wedged between China and South Korea, the sites of the two largest outbreaks, the absence of the novel virus is conspicuous.

Nonetheless, North Korea's propaganda outlets maintain the country has zero cases of the virus.

South Korean cult at heart of recent spike

Less than a week ago, South Korea had only registered two-dozen cases. But that number skyrocketed in the past few days to over 1,140 infections and at least 11 deaths.

Workers wearing protective suits spray disinfectant at a market in Bupyeong, South Korea. ( AP: Lee Jong-chul/Newsis )

Most of the fatalities occurred at a hospital in the southern county of Cheongdo near Daegu where a slew of infections were detected in a mental health ward.

A religious group in Daegu, cast as a secretive doomsday cult, has been at the heart of South Korea's recent boost in coronavirus cases.

Shincheonji sect, which is also known as Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, is headed by Lee Man-hee, who claims to be a prophet.

A worker stacks plastic buckets containing medical waste from coronavirus patients at a medical centre in Daegu. ( AP: Lee Moo-ryul/Newsis )

Observers of the faith huddle in close quarters to pray at a proximity that could help incubate the disease.

He urged his members to "follow the Government's instructions" and avoid public gatherings.

"This disease outbreak is the work of the Devil, which is hellbent on stopping the rapid growth of the Shincheonji," he told his followers.

President Moon Jae-in has said the situation is "very grave" and has raised the highest alert level for infectious diseases, but has not ordered a lockdown of the city of Daegu.

Italy is Europe's hardest-hit nation amid hunt for 'patient zero'

A woman wearing a sanitary mask looks at her phone in Milan, Italy. ( AP: Claudio Furlan/Lapresse )

The number of cases in Italy, the country in Europe worst affected, rose to more than 374 this week with the death toll climbing to 12.

The streets in northern Italy are eerily empty in a declared "red zone", with more than 50,000 people in lockdown.

Inside an empty British Airways flight from London to Milan. ( ABC News: Andrew Greaves )

The virus has also spread to the south of Italy, with several countries reporting their first cases of the deadly COVID-19 apparently stemming from Italy, including Austria, Croatia, Switzerland, Algeria and Greece.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte was forced to admit a local hospital had mishandled the region's first coronavirus case, contributing to the spread, and health authorities were yet to identify "patient zero" — the person who first brought the virus into the country.

The final days of the world-famous Venice Carnival were cancelled as authorities scrambled to contain the outbreak, with football matches in the region also called off.

South America on Wednesday (local time) also recorded its first case after Brazil's Government confirmed a 61-year-old Brazilian who returned from Italy this month tested positive.

This means the virus has now spread to every continent except Antarctica.

Masks mix with sanitary masks in the last day of carnival in Venice, Italy. ( AP: Luigi Costantini )

Cambodia 'too hot' for the virus as Myanmar fights infection with pepper

As the New York Times noted earlier this month, the coronavirus outbreak has received a notably subdued response "in countries where China holds sway".

In Myanmar, Buddhist monks broadcast over loudspeakers that placing "exactly seven" ground peppercorns on the tongue will ward off the virus.

Passengers celebrate after they disembark from the MS Westerdam in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. ( AP Photo: Heng Sinith )

While other countries are imposing travel bans, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has made a move in the opposite direction, declaring his intention to travel to Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus.

He was told "no" — Wuhan was in lockdown — but he boasted of being the first world leader to visit China since the outbreak, in a gesture of solidarity.

Hun Sen shakes hands with Xi Jinping in China in early February 2020. ( Facebook )

He has repeatedly said fear of the new coronavirus is worse than the virus itself, and the country also welcomed the cruise ship MS Westerdam, to praise from the WHO director-general and US President Donald Trump.

It's a publicity boost at a time when the European Union is stripping back a trade agreement over human rights concerns, including the ongoing trial of Cambodia's opposition leader and the forced dissolution of his party.

Cambodia's Health Minister, Mam Bun Heng, said the country was too hot for the virus to spread.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that was not the case.

"At this stage, the virus is too new for us to be sure how warmer weather could affect transmissibility," a spokesperson told the ABC.

"The virus has affected people in cold/dry and warm/wet climates. WHO advise public to follow precautions wherever they live."

The WHO has recommended "a range of infection-prevention measures including careful hand and respiratory hygiene, and keeping at least 1 metre distance from others to help stop transmission" and has also "issued guidance to assist all countries to prepare for possible international exportation of COVID-2019 cases".