France has reported its fourth death from coronavirus, as Iran sees a spike in cases and Japan hints that the Olympics could be postponed.

The latest death in France was of a 92-year-old man in Brittany and it came as the government confirmed 204 cases - up 13 from the previous day.

French president Emmanuel Macron said the government was requisitioning all current and future stocks of face masks so they could be given to health workers and those who were ill with COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus.

Image: The number of cases in Iran has increased sharply in recent days

Iran

There has been a spike of more than 800 new coronavirus cases in Iran, with the country's deputy health minister Alireza Raisi saying that 77 people have died from 2,336 confirmed cases of the disease.

The number of cases was a sharp increase from the total of around 1,500 seen on Monday.

Authorities said they plan to mobilise 300,000 soldiers and volunteers to deal with the virus and experts from the World Health Organisation have also arrived to help local health workers.

France, Germany and the UK have also promised testing supplies, protective body suits and gloves, as well as offering financial aid.

Iran's chief justice, Ebrahim Raisi, said some people were stockpiling medical supplies for profit, urging prosecutors to show "no mercy for hoarders" who were "playing with people's lives".

According to Iranian politician Abdolreza Mesri, 23 members of the country's parliament have been infected.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, used disposable gloves as he planted a tree to mark next month's Arbour Day.

The 80-year-old said: "Whatever helps public health and prevents the spread of the disease is good and what helps to spread it is sin."

Olympics

The International Olympic Committee's executive board has been meeting in Switzerland to discuss the future of the summer games, due to start on 24 July in Tokyo.

Japan's Olympic minister Seiko Hashimoto said: "The IOC has the right to cancel the games only if they are not held during 2020.

"This can be interpreted to mean the games can be postponed as long as they are held during the calendar year."

She was asked if the Olympics should be held if the outbreak worsens and said: "We are making the utmost effort so that we don't have to face that situation."

There have been 274 confirmed cases of the virus in Japan, where many schools have been closed and sports competitions cancelled.

If the Olympics was cancelled, it would be only the fourth time in history - the other three all being during wartime.

IOC President Thomas Bach said he remains "very confident with regard to the success of these Olympic Games in 2020".

When asked earlier about the words of Ms Hashimoto, he had declined to "fuel the flames of speculation".

South Korea

South Korea has confirmed 851 more cases of the coronavirus, with Seoul saying more hospital beds and face masks were on order as the number of cases rose to 5,186, with 34 deaths.

South Korean president Moon Jae-in said: "The entire country has entered war against the infectious disease as the crisis in Daegu and Gyeongbuk province has reached the highest point."

Image: South Korea's leader has declared 'war' on the virus

He also apologised for the shortage of face masks, saying: "I am very sorry to the people that we are not able to supply masks swiftly and sufficiently, and have caused inconvenience."

South Korea, one of Asia's largest economies, has the highest number of COVID-19 cases outside China, where the virus originated.

There have now been more than 91,000 confirmed and suspected cases globally, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the outbreak. It says there have been more than 3,100 deaths.

Image: There were concerns that Pope Francis might have been struck down by the virus

Italy

Italy is facing Europe's biggest outbreak, with 2,036 cases, and its death toll jumped from 34 on Monday to 52 by Tuesday.

Italians have reportedly been told to stand at least a metre away from each other when in public spaces, based on a study of how far saliva droplets travel when people speak.

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.

Italian newspaper Il Messaggero reported that Pope Francis, who had cancelled a Lent retreat for the first time in his papacy due to a cold, tested negative for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said he had no comment on the reports.

Pope Francis, 83, had part of one lung removed due to an illness decades ago and also cancelled most of his audiences last week.

How to contain a global pandemic

In other developments:

Group of Seven nations draft a plan to soften the economic hit but it does not include calls for new government spending or central bank rate cuts - news which disappoints the financial markets

Gibraltar confirms its first coronavirus case

There are concerns the virus may disrupt voting in today's Super Tuesday US presidential primaries, with the possibility that someone could spread false information about the disease to keep voters away

The number of people in the UK who have tested positive for the virus stood at 51 by Tuesday afternoon

England's cricketers will reportedly fist-pump - rather than shake hands - with their opponents Sri Lanka during their upcoming tour

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China

China has reported the lowest number of new cases since nationwide data on the disease was first published in January.

There were 125 new cases in mainland China on Monday, down from 202 a day earlier. More than 80,000 cases have been confirmed in China.

Excluding cases from Hubei province, where the outbreak began, there were 11 new cases. Seven of these were Chinese nationals who had worked in a restaurant in the Lombardy region of Italy, which has been badly-affected by the virus.

Authorities asked citizens overseas to reconsider plans to return home, as concern turns to the potential for the virus to be brought back in to China from hotspots outside its borders.

Shanghai, China's second-largest city, has announced it will require everyone coming from countries with "relatively serious virus conditions" to undergo 14 days of quarantine, regardless of their nationality.

'Wuhan shake' - how to greet people in China when you can't shake hands

US

The US reports that six people have died from the virus, all in Washington state, with new cases of infection being reported in New Hampshire and New York.

In Seattle, King County Executive Dow Constantine said the county is buying a hotel to be used as a hospital for patients who need to be isolated.

"We have moved to a new stage in the fight," he said.

More than 100 cases have been confirmed in the US.

Image: Fear of coronavirus has had Australians stocking up on toilet paper

Australia

Australians have been stocking up on essentials, with toilet paper among the items most in demand.

Pictures on social media showed empty shelves, while some enterprising shoppers sought to take advantage by listing toilet rolls for sale at inflated prices on websites such as Gumtree.

Melbourne newspaper The Age reported that the country's largest toilet paper manufacturer had increased production to run 24-hours-a-day to cater for the increased demand.

Australia's prime minister Scott Morrison was quoted in the newspaper as saying this would "come as a great relief to everybody".

The country's two main supermarket chains - Woolworths and Coles - have begun stockpiling toilet paper after a rare call to their chief executives from Mr Morrison.

Australia, which has confirmed 31 cases of the virus, is not the only country whose shoppers are going crazy for toilet paper - panic-buying has also been seen in reports from the US and Japan.

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