US President Donald Trump has threatened to put a "hold" on funds for the World Health Organization (WHO), accusing the organization of bias towards China and performing badly in the coronavirus pandemic, as deaths from the disease jumped in the United States and Europe and cases surged in Africa.

US President Trump's threat to UN body comes as US confirmed cases near 400,000 and global infections exceed 1.4 million.The US provides the WHO's biggest source of funds.

Trump told reporters he was "going to put a very powerful hold on" the WHO but did not elaborate.

Trump's comments came as New York reported 731 people had died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus - the highest daily increase so far - and the number of confirmed cases in the US neared 400,000.

Countries in Asia are also stepping up measures against the outbreak with Japan entering a state of emergency and a partial lockdown and Singapore closing all schools.

In Wuhan, the Chinese city where the virus first emerged a ban on travel was finally lifted on Wednesday morning.

Globally, the number of people diagnosed with the virus now exceeds 1.4 million. More than 81,500 people have died while more than 300,000 have recovered according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Source: Aljazeera