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China reports 648 new cases, South Korea cases spike

South Korean health officials spray disinfectant in front of the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the southeastern city of Daegu on February 21, 2020.

Jung Yeon-je | AFP | Getty Images

10:10 pm: President Trump says China’s Xi is doing a ‘good job’ combating coronavirus

President Donald Trump on Sunday repeated his belief that Chinese Premier Xi Jinping is doing a “good job” combating the fast-spreading coronavirus and that Xi will “solve” the problem. He added that the virus is “under control” in the U.S.

There were 35 confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S. as of Sunday morning.

10:00 pm: Turkey closes border with Iran over coronavirus fears

Turkey is closing its border with Iran to stop infections from spreading, the country’s health ministry announced Sunday. The moves come as Iran reported 43 cases and eight deaths from the virus.

All highways and railways connecting Turkey to Iran will be closed as of 5 p.m. local time, health minister Fahrettin Koca said, adding that flights from Iran would also be suspended.

9:36 pm: Italy cancels Venice carnival as virus cases increase six-fold

Italian authorities are canceling the Venice carnival, an annual event that had already drawn thousands, as it rushes to contain the coronavirus rapidly spreading in the country’s north. The event started on Saturday and would have run until Tuesday.

Schools, universities, museums and other public spaces will be closed in Venice and the surrounding region of Veneto in a shutdown set to last through at least Mar. 1. Italy’s cases of the new coronavirus have soared from 18 to 133 over the course of the weekend.

7:52 pm: South Korea confirms sixth death

A sixth person has died from the coronavirus in South Korea, the country’s Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention said Sunday evening. South Korea’s new cases jumped by 169 over the weekend, bringing the its total infected to 602.

7:07 pm: China’s Xi says coronavirus situation is still “serious and complex”

Chinese Premier Xi Jinping said the coronavirus situation in China is still “serious and complex,” according to a Reuters translation of state media. He also said that the country would maintain a “prudent” monetary policy, and would introduce new policy measures in a timely way, Reuters reported.

China is the epicenter of the new coronavirus, with 76,936 cases and 2,442 deaths on the mainland as of Feb. 22. Many businesses and schools remain shut, with economists predicting an economic growth slowdown for the country of 1.4 billion.

7:00 pm: Third Diamond Princess cruise ship passenger dies in Japan

A third passenger of the virus-stricken cruise ship Diamond Princess has died, Japanese health officials said Sunday. The patient, who officials said was removed from the ship after testing positive for the new coronavirus, was a Japanese man in his 80s said to be already suffering from other respiratory ailments. The statement from Japan’s health minister cited the cause of death as pneumonia. The two prior passenger deaths were also Japanese citizens in their 80s.

More than 600 people on the cruise chip, docked in Japan’s Yokohama Bay, have tested positive for the virus despite to weeks of quarantine. The ship holds the highest concentration of infected people outside of mainland China, where the virus has taken the greatest toll.

5:46 pm: Iran confirms new death; 8 total, 43 infected

Iran has confirmed a new death from the coronavirus, bringing its total fatalities in the country to eight. Iran now has 43 confirmed cases of infection, Iranian health ministry officials said Sunday, according to Reuters. This marks a significant jump from the latest available WHO report from Feb. 22, which cited 18 cases.

5:15 pm: Italy cases jump to 89 in Lombardy region, surpassing 100 nationwide

Italy’s norther region of Lombardy announced a rise in confirmed coronavirus cases to 89, bringing the country’s total over 100, the region’s governor said Sunday. Italy has the highest number of confirmed cases in Europe.

In the two worst-hit regions of Lombardy and Veneto, sports events have been canceled, and authorities closed schools and universities, according to a Reuters report.

A dozen towns in northern Italy effectively went into lockdown on Saturday after the deaths of the two infected people, and a growing cluster of cases with no direct links to the origin of the outbreak abroad.

4:11 pm: South Korean cases jump to 602 after 46 new cases reported

South Korea, which reported 556 cases of the new coronavirus just Sunday morning, has confirmed another 46, bringing the total to 602, the Korea Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (KCDC) said on Sunday afternoon.

Over 50% of the new cases originated in a church in the city of Daegu, in the country’s south-east, after a 61-year-old woman who went to services there tested positive for the illness last week, Reuters reported. The woman is known as “Patient 31.”

3:56 pm: France’s finance minister says tourism down up to 40% due to virus

France’s tourism sector has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, the country’s finance minister said Sunday.

“We have less tourists, of course, in France, about 30%, 40% less than expected,” Bruno Le Maire told CNBC on Sunday at the G-20 meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Tourism accounts for nearly 8% of France’s gross domestic product. It welcomes around 2.7 million Chinese tourists each year, which Le Maire said “won’t be the same, of course, in 2020.” France has reported 12 confirmed cases of the virus and one death, according to a WHO report dated Feb. 22.

3:15 pm: South Korea raises alert level to maximum

South Korean President Moon Jae-in declared the country of 51 million on its highest possible alert Sunday as confirmed coronavirus cases leap to more than 600 in just a few days.

The alert − Level 4, or “serious” − allows the government to lock down cities and take other powerful measures to contain the disease’s outbreak, which has so far caused 5 deaths in the country.

“The coming few days will be a critical time for us,” Mr. Moon said at an emergency meeting on Sunday. “This will be a momentous time when the central government, local governments, health officials and medical personnel and the entire people must wage an all-out, concerted response to the problem.”

12:21 pm: Japanese minister apologizes after woman who disembarked cruise ship tests positive for coronavirus

Japan’s health minister has issued an apology after a women who left the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess tested positive for the new coronavirus. The woman, reported to be in her 60s, was under quarantine on the ship for 14 days but tested positive during another test in Tochigi Prefecture, which is north of Tokyo.

Health Minister Katsunobu Kato revealed that 23 people who had disembarked on Wednesday and Thursday had not undergone tests since before Feb. 5. The ministry was working to reach them for new testing, he told a press conference in Tokyo on Saturday night, according to Reuters.

“We deeply apologize for the situation caused by our oversight,” Kato said. “We will take all necessary measures, like double checks, to prevent a recurrence.”

12:05 pm: Man in Hubei didn’t show symptoms until 27 days later

Hubei’s government on Saturday said a 70-year-old man did not show any symptoms till 27 days later, although he was infected with the coronavirus.

That suggested the incubation period could be longer than 14 days.

10:50 am: Hong Kong passengers on Diamond Princess cruise ship arrive home

A third chartered plane evacuating Hong Kong residents from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan arrived home on Sunday morning, according to a South China Morning Post report.

The five residents on the plane were among more than 200 who have been evacuated since Thursday. They are all serving out a two-week quarantine period in Hong Kong.

As of Saturday, there were 70 confirmed cases in the city, said the report.

9:55 am: China reports 648 new cases, 97 additional deaths

China’s National Health Commission reported 648 new confirmed cases, and 97 additional deaths as of Feb. 22.

That brings the mainland’s total to 76,936 cases, and 2,442 deaths.

9:23 am: South Korea reports 123 new cases, fourth death

South Korea reported a jump of 123 new cases, bringing the country’s total to 556 infected, according to the country’s for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday morning. It also reported two more deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities to four.

More of half of the cases have been linked to outbreaks at a branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in country’s fourth-largest city Daegu. More than 1,000 people who attended the church have reported flu-like symptoms.

Of the 123 new cases, 63 are from the church in Daegu, according to the health authority.

Officials are also investigating a possible link between churchgoers and the spike in infections at the Cheongdo hospital, where more than 110 people have been infected so far, mostly patients at a mental illness ward.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics on Saturday confirmed one coronavirus case at its phone factory in South Korea, which caused it to shut down the entire facility, according to Reuters.

8:30 am: Cases in Italy jump

Infections in Italy saw a sharp spike, surging to 79 cases by Saturday, with two dead, according to the country’s health ministry.

In the two worst-hit regions of Lombardy and Veneto, sports events have been canceled, and authorities closed schools and universities, according to a Reuters report. Serie A soccer matches in those regions will not be played on Sunday.

A dozen towns in northern Italy effectively went into lockdown on Saturday after the deaths of the two infected people, and a growing cluster of cases with no direct links to the origin of the outbreak abroad.

An information sign that reads ‘Coronavirus, the population is invited as a precautionary measure to remain at home’ is pictured in the village of Casalpusterlengo, southeast of Milan, on February 22, 2020.

Miguel Medina | AFP

Companies have told employees from virus-hit areas to stay at home, the report said. Lombardy and Veneto are the heart of Italy’s industrial region and both make up 30% of gross domestic output.

7:55 am: Hubei reports 630 new cases

China’s Hubei province reported 630 new confirmed cases, and 96 additional deaths, as of Feb. 22.

That brings the total number of confirmed cases in the province to 64,084, and the death toll to 2,346.

All times below are in Eastern time.

3:58 pm: Virus cases surge in South Korea

The number of coronavirus cases tripled in South Korea on Saturday, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with the number of confirmed cases in the country surging to 433 from 156 over a 24-hour period. The surge in cases adds to fears among health officials that the virus, which has spread to 28 countries, could turn into a global pandemic.

More than half of the cases in South Korea are connected to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, and over a thousand members have reported potential symptoms of the virus. The area surrounding the Christian sect’s church in Daegu, a major city in South Korea, has become empty as businesses there shutter.

South Korean health officials spray disinfectant in front of the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the southeastern city of Daegu on February 21, 2020.

Jung Yeon-je | AFP | Getty Images

2:36 pm: 7 river cruise ships to house medical workers in Wuhan

Chinese state media reported that seven ships brought into the city of Wuhan in Hubei province will be converted into temporary accommodations for medical staff in the city.

Thousands of medical workers from across the country have been brought into Hubei to help the province contain the outbreak.

Xinhua News reported that the ships normally operate as river cruises in the Three Gorges, a popular and scenic tourist area along the Yangtze River. The state news agency said, however, that the cruise ship business in the Three Gorges had been closed due to the outbreak.

The move comes amid heightened scrutiny after hundreds of passengers on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship contracted the new coronavirus. —Wang

12:20 pm: WHO fears spread of virus to countries in Africa

World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met with African officials from Geneva on Saturday morning to urge them to prepare for a potential spread of the coronavirus across Africa.

Just one case has been confirmed on the continent, but health officials fear the increasing global spread of the virus, especially to countries with less developed health-care systems.

WHO says it has shipped more than 30,000 sets of personal protective equipment to six countries in Africa, and is set to ship 60,000 more sets to 19 countries in upcoming weeks. It has also provided online training courses to 11,000 African health workers, as well as advice to countries on how to conduct screening, testing and treatment.

Read CNBC’s coverage from the U.S. overnight: IMF lowers global growth forecast, cases surge in South Korea

— CNBC’s Christine Wang, Emma Newburger, and Associated Press contributed to this report.

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