South Korea has seen a sharp jump in Novel Corona virus cases on Sunday. The number of infections have nearly tripled over the weekend to 556. Following a government meeting on the virus today, President Moon Jae-in said, the next few days will be crucial. South Korea now has the most infections outside China. Meanwhile, Japan today confirmed that a woman who tested negative and disembarked from the Diamond Princess, later tested positive.

Elsewhere, Italy and Iran began introducing containment measures. With dozens of cases, Italy became the first European country to report death on Saturday of its two nationals from the virus. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said, the government was weighing extraordinary measures to halt further infections.

Iran ordered the closure of schools, universities and cultural centres across 14 provinces from today following five deaths in the Islamic Republic. The virus death in Iran is the most outside East Asia and the first in the Middle East. Iraq clamped down on travel to and from Iran on Thursday, and flag carrier Kuwait Airways has suspended flights to the country.

Although Egypt is the only African country with a confirmed case, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the continent was vulnerable, urging more African Union cooperation.