Most coronavirus infections are in China, the original source of the virus, where 77,000 people have the disease and nearly 2,600 have died. The number of new cases there is now falling.

More than 1,200 cases have been confirmed in about 30 other countries and there have been more than 20 deaths. Italy reported four more deaths on February 24, raising the total there to seven.

China’s government announced a ban on the consumption of wild animals and a crackdown on the hunting, transportation and trade of prohibited species, state media say.

It is thought that the outbreak originated at a market in the city of Wuhan selling wild animals.

On February 24, China reported 409 new infections, the bulk of which were in Wuhan.

South Korea has the largest number of confirmed cases outside China. On February 24, the Asian country reported another 231 COVID-19 infections on taking the total there to more than 830. Eight people have died.

Around 7,700 troops have been quarantined after 11 military members were infected.

However, the biggest virus clusters have been linked to a hospital and a religious group near the south-eastern city of Daegu.

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Italy has the largest number of cases in Europe, 229, and announced a series of drastic measures over the weekend to try to contain the outbreak.

In the regions of Lombardy and Veneto, a lock-down is in place in several small towns. For the next two weeks, 50,000 residents will not be able to leave without special permission.

Even outside the zone, many businesses and schools have suspended activities, and sporting events have been cancelled.

Three deaths announced on February 24 were all in Lombardy, Italian media reported.

It is not yet clear how the virus entered the country, officials said.

On February 23, Iran announced it had 61 confirmed cases of coronavirus, most of them in the holy city of Qom. Twelve of those infected have died, the highest number of deaths outside China.

On February 24, a lawmaker in Qom accused the government of covering up the extent of the outbreak, saying there were 50 deaths in the city alone. However, the country’s deputy health minister quickly denied the claim.

On the same day, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain reported their first cases, all involving people who had come from Iran. Officials in Bahrain said the patient infected there was a school bus driver, and several schools had been closed as a result.