As the number of cases reported in China, specifically Wuhan — the epicentre — continued to decline, elsewhere in the world, countries scrambled to put up an effective response to the rising threat.

• South Korea struggles to find enough hospital beds for sick patients
• Death toll in Iran rises to 92, the highest outside China
• Italy is considering closing down all schools and universities as death toll reaches 79
• Saudi Arabia bans even its own citizens from performing Umrah
• WHO says death rate from the virus currently stands at 3.4%, making it deadlier than the common flu