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The rapid spread of the new coronavirus has increased fears of a pandemic, with the World Health Organization (WHO) raising its global spread and impact risk alert to "very high" on Friday.

South Korea reported 376 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Sunday, raising the country's total number of infections to 3,526, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.

Mainland China reported 573 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Feb. 29, up from 427 the previous day and the highest daily increase in a week, the country's health authority said on Sunday.

A Washington state man in his 50s with underlying health issues became the United States' first fatality from the coronavirus, officials said on Saturday, as the Trump administration stepped up efforts to combat the spread of the global outbreak.

Travelers entering the United States from Italy, South Korea and Iran will face new restrictions as part of efforts to curtail the spread of the coronavirus, President Donald Trump and U.S. health officials said on Saturday.

Officials from Washington said on Saturday that two of three confirmed coronavirus cases in the state had links to a long-term care facility in the city of Kirkland, and more than 50 other residents and staff of the facility could be symptomatic.

President Donald Trump said additional coronavirus cases in the United States were "likely" but that the country was prepared for any circumstance, at a news conference on Saturday after reports of the first U.S. patient death from the virus.

Greece has confirmed three new cases of coronavirus, the Health Ministry said on Saturday, bringing the total number of coronavirus infections in the country to seven.

Brazil's Health Ministry on Saturday confirmed the country's second case of the fast-spreading new coronavirus, diagnosed in a 32-year-old patient in São Paulo who had recently visited Italy and arrived on Thursday.

Health authorities in Ireland on Saturday confirmed the country's first case of coronavirus and said it was associated with travel from an affected area in northern Italy.

Schools and universities will stay closed for a second consecutive week in three northern Italian regions in an effort to contain Europe's worst outbreak of coronavirus, dashing any hopes of a swift return to normality.

Eight more people have died in Italy from coronavirus, the civil protection agency said on Saturday, bringing the total to 29, while the number of those testing positive for the illness jumped by some 240 over the last 24 hours.

The rapid spread of the coronavirus has increased fears of a pandemic, with the World Health Organization (WHO) raising its global spread and impact risk alert to "very high" on Friday.

Washington state health officials reported the first patient death from coronavirus in the United States on Saturday, according to a news release, as federal and local health officials scramble to contain the rapidly spreading disease.

U.S. officials said on Saturday that restrictions on travelers from Iran would be expanded to include any foreign nationals who have visited that country in the last 14 days as part of an effort to curtail the spread of coronavirus in the United States.

Washington state health officials reported the first patient death from coronavirus in the United States on Saturday, according to a news release.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Saturday said it will allow some laboratories to immediately use tests they have developed and validated to achieve more rapid testing capacity for the coronavirus in the country.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday called on the public to cooperate in a "tough battle" to contain the coronavirus outbreak in coming weeks as the country prepares to hold the Olympic Games in Tokyo as planned.

The coronavirus spread further on Friday, with cases reported for the first time in at least six countries across four continents, battering markets and leading the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise its impact risk alert to "very high."

Qatar reported its first case of coronavirus infection in the country on Saturday.