The number of coronavirus cases worldwide has passed 100,000, according to Johns Hopkins University, as the outbreak intensifies.

The university, which is tracking the outbreak, says the coronavirus has caused the deaths of more than 3,400 people.

It comes amid signs of the virus's shift away from its origins in China, with Italy, Iran and South Korea emerging as the other countries hardest hit by the deadly disease.

Italy is the worst affected country in Europe, with more than 4,636 cases, a rise of 778 in a day, and a death toll of 197, an increase of 49.

In South Korea, the second hardest-hit country behind China, nearly 6,600 people have tested positive for the virus, with 40 deaths recorded.


The number of infections from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has risen to 4,747 in Iran, where 124 people have died.

Just a month ago, China was reporting several thousand new cases a day, outnumbering infections elsewhere in the world by about 120 to one.

China's central province of Hubei, excluding the provincial capital Wuhan (the epicentre of the outbreak), has reported no new cases of coronavirus over 24 hours for the first time.

There were 126 new cases in Wuhan.

Three months since the first cases were recorded in Wuhan in December - linked to a seafood market - the virus has now spread to every continent except Antarctica.

In France, there are now 613 confirmed cases and nine deaths.

In two of the worst-hit regions - Oise, north of Paris, and Haut-Rhin in eastern France - all nurseries and schools will be shut for two weeks.

Austria is introducing "spot" health checks at its border with Italy for a fortnight in response to the outbreak.

In the UK, a second person has died after being diagnosed with COVID-19.

The Vatican, Cameroon, Peru, Serbia and Slovakia confirmed their first cases on Friday, and the Netherlands its first coronavirus death.

Cases in Belgium have doubled to more than 109, while Germany reported 134 new coronavirus cases in less than 24 hours.

How to contain a global pandemic

Governments are ramping up their moves to contain the disease as it spreads globally.

The British government is considering the isolation of whole households, encouraging people to work from home, and is also looking at cutting large-scale gatherings.

Measures including restricting people from visiting the elderly in nursing homes are in force in Italy, where older people have been urged to stay at home, while schools and universities have been shut down across the country.

Eleven northern towns remain under quarantine, but officials say it could be another two weeks before it is known whether this has helped to halt the spread of the disease.

Twenty one people stranded on a cruise ship off the coast of California have tested positive for coronavirus.

US vice president Mike Pence - who has been tasked by President Donald Trump to coordinate the US government's response to the outbreak of COVID-19 - has admitted there are not enough coronavirus testing kits for Americans who want them.

The number of dead in the US rose to 15 on Friday.

The head of the UN's food agency, the World Food Programme, has warned of the potential of "absolute devastation" as the outbreak's effects ripple through Africa and the Middle East.

The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the site revered as the birthplace of Jesus, has been closed indefinitely over fears of the coronavirus.

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Meanwhile, EU27 health ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss what they can do to co-ordinate a response to the outbreak as it spreads across Europe and the rest of the globe.

Ministers have expressed concerns about shortages of sanitisers, drugs, face masks and protective gear for health workers.

In other developments:

South Korea has reported 505 new cases, taking its total to 6,593

South Korea is using drive-thru testing centres - inspired by the fast food counters used by McDonald's - to identify new cases

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says the government is not considering stopping flights into the UK

The head of UN's food agency has warned of the potential for "absolute devastation" as the outbreak's effects ripple through Africa and the Middle East

Virus Outbreak: Global Emergency - Watch a special Sky News programme on coronavirus at 6pm weekdays