Turkey, Pakistan and Armenia have closed their borders with Iran as it reported more coronavirus infections and deaths, prompting neighbouring Afghanistanto also introduce travel restrictions.
The measures were introduced as fears mounted over the rise of cases outside of China, particularly in Iran, Italy and South Korea.
Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping described the COVID-19 outbreak as the “largest public health emergency” since the founding of Communist China as the death toll on the mainland reached 2,442 with 76,936 infections reported as of Sunday.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was concerned about a rise in cases with no clear link to China – where the virus was first detected in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province in late December – and called for urgent funding to support countries with weaker health systems.
