Stock markets around the world slid as fears grew the coronavirus could not be contained.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 3.55% on Monday from its prior closing. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite also closed lower, at 3.35% and 3.71%, respectively.

United Kingdom's Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index closed down 3.34% from its prior closing. Germany’s DAX was down over 4%, and Italy’s sole stock market, the Borsa Italiana, closed 5.43% down from its prior closing. Italy confirmed its fifth death from the virus earlier on Monday.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday that the outbreak has the potential to become a pandemic.

“We must focus on containment while doing everything we can to prepare for a potential pandemic,” Ghebreyesus said in France via a public broadcast service. He added that there are nearly 80,000 confirmed cases in 28 countries of the disease. Over 2,600 worldwide have died from the virus.

Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday said an additional 18 people in the United States have been infected by the virus, bringing the total to 53 in the U.S.

China's top legislative body on Monday postponed its annual meeting of parliament because of the coronavirus. The meeting was originally scheduled to begin on March 5. A new date has not been announced.