The death toll from the new coronavirus in Italy has risen to 197 after the largest daily increase in fatalities there since the outbreak began.
Officials said 49 people had died in 24 hours, while more than 4,600 cases have been reported in total.
The country has now reported the most deaths outside of China, where the virus emerged in December.
The World Health Organization says nearly 100,000 people worldwide have contracted the coronavirus.
More than 3,000 people have died – the majority in China.
WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the spread of the virus “deeply concerning” and urged all countries to make containment “their highest priority”.
What is happening in Italy?
Officials announced the record daily death toll in a statement on Friday.
They said the number could not be officially confirmed until health officials had “established the actual cause of death”.
The national health institute said the average age of those who have died was 81, with the majority suffering from underlying health problems. An estimated 72% of all those who have died were men.
According to government data, 4.25% of confirmed coronavirus cases have died, the highest rate in the world.
Italy has one of the world’s oldest populations.
The government this week ordered the closure of all schools for 10 days as it battles to contain the outbreak.
All professional sport, including Serie A football matches, will also be played behind closed doors for a month.
The BBC’s Rome correspondent Mark Lowen tweeted that a resident in the quarantined Italian town of Codogno told him the most upsetting thing for many people there is that funerals are not being permitted for coronavirus victims because of the need to limit gatherings.
“Priests are saying a couple of prayers – and that’s it,” he wrote.
Only China, South Korea and Iran have reported more coronavirus cases than Italy.
What are the latest updates?
✓The Vatican, Serbia, Slovakia, Peru and Togo have reported their first cases of the virus
✓A man in his 80s became the second person in the UK to die after testing positive for the coronavirus
✓Scotland Women’s Six Nations match with France at Glasgow’s Scotstoun Stadium has been postponed after a home player contracted coronavirus.
✓US President Donald Trump signed an $8.3bn (£6.4bn) emergency bill to to try to combat the outbreak
✓France became the latest country to announce school closures, which will affect the worst-hit areas in the country
✓Canada confirmed its first “community” case of a person who had not recently left the country and had no known contact with someone infected
✓A cruise ship was forced to turn away from Malta after doctors threatened industrial action if it docked amid coronavirus concerns
✓The South by Southwest (SXSW) music and tech festival in Austin, Texas has been cancelled over growing concerns related to the outbreak
BBC
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