The coronavirus has been spreading fast with new cases reported in the Middle East, Europe and other parts of the world, with more deaths in Italy. The virus has now infected more than 80,000 globally, killing at least 2,700.

Desperately struggling to contain the virus, Italy has the largest number of cases outside Asia and the second-highest number of deaths outside China after Iran, where at least 15 people have died.

All the people who have died in Italy were elderly patients or already had serious preconditions.

The worst-hit European country, at least 11 people have died from coronavirus in Italy and there are more than 300 cases - most in the north. The 11th person to die was a 76-year-old woman in the Veneto region, officials announced on Tuesday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said the coronavirus outbreak has not reached the level of a pandemic but warned countries to step up preparations to deal with such a scenario, as new deaths and infections were reported in the Middle East and Europe.

While the global health agency is very concerned about the spread of the virus within countries such as South Korea, Iran and Italy, its chief said on Monday the infections in China - the country where it originated late last year - have been declining since early February, which proved that the virus can be contained.

"For the moment, we are not witnessing the uncontained global spread of this coronavirus, and we are not witnessing large-scale severe disease or death," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva.

He added, however, that countries should be "doing everything we can to prepare for a potential pandemic.

"What we see are epidemics in different parts of the world affecting countries in different ways and requiring a tailored response."

Credit: Aljazeera