EUROPEAN Union leaders will take part in a crisis video conference Tuesday to coordinate actions to fight the spread of the coronavirus.

"Containing the spread of the virus, providing sufficient medical equipment, boosting research and limiting the economic fallout is key," tweeted European Council chief Charles Michel.

The 27 EU member state leaders will hold their extraordinary summit -- called by Michel -- one day after the G7 holds a similar high-level video conference.

Europe has now become what the World Heath Organization regards as the epicentre of the global novel coronavirus outbreak, and Brussels is trying to coordinate the response.

Several countries have take unilateral steps to close their borders or impose stricter controls, despite calls from EU chiefs for a common approach.

Finance ministers from the eurozone single currency bloc were also to hold video talks later Monday, as the continent readies a financial package to steady the economy.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

The latest developments of COVID-19 across the world are as follows:

France

The coronavirus situation in France is "deteriorating very fast," the country's director-general of health said Monday.

"The number of cases double every three days," Jerome Salomon told national radio broadcaster France Inter, saying the outbreak in the country is "very worrying."

The total number of confirmed cases in France as of Monday reached 5,923, with 126 confirmed deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

South Korea

South Korean stocks ended 3.2 percent lower Monday on rising worry about the global economic slump from the COVID-19 spreading across the globe.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dived 56.58 points, or 3.19 percent, to settle at 1,714.86. Trading volume stood at 671 million shares worth 8.5 trillion won (6.9 billion U.S. dollars).It was the lowest close in about eight and a half years since October 2011.

South Korea's central bank cut interest rate to an all-time low of 0.75 percent Monday in its first emergency move since the 2008 global financial crisis in order to help the economy weather the expected global economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 outbreak across the world.

Iran

Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education said that over 10 million Iranians have been screened for COVID-19 symptoms, Press TV reported on Monday. Deputy health minister Alireza Raeisi said Sunday that the screening had been carried out over past four days.

Iran's has announced the infection of 13,938 people with the novel coronavirus by Sunday, of whom 724 people have died.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh has decided to shut all the educational institutions in the country from Tuesday until March 31 in an effort to halt the spread of the deadly COVID-19.

The decision came as the country confirmed three more new COVID-19 cases earlier Monday, taking the total to eight.

Australia

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday instructed the nation to brace for more extreme coronavirus containment measures, saying a ban on nursing home visits could be introduced as early as Tuesday.

On Sunday he announced that all overseas arrivals to Australia will be subjected to mandatory 14-day self-isolation effective immediately.

According to the Department of Health of the Australian Government, there were 298 diagnosed cases of the virus as of 1 p.m. Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT) on Monday - up from 249 on Sunday morning.

The Australian share market slumped 9.7 percent on Monday, its biggest single day drop since the 1987 crash, with COVID-19 volatility once again throttling shares.

China

The number of severe cases continues to decrease and the medical treatment is effective, said Mi Feng, an official with the National Health Commission at a press conference.

The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 80,860 by the end of Sunday, including 9,898 patients who were still being treated, 67,749 patients who had been discharged after recovery, and 3,213 people who died of the disease.

U.K.

As Britain has switched from the "containment" to "delay" phase in response to the spread of COVID-19, the Downing Street hopes to create "herd immunity" to the disease instead of taking proactive and drastic countermeasures.

Herd immunity," also called "community immunity" or "herd protection," technically means a form of indirect protection from infectious disease that occurs when a large part of a population is vaccinated and becomes immune to infections, thereby protecting vulnerable people such as newborns, seniors and those who are too sick to be vaccinated.

The strategy has sparked debates, mostly questions and criticism, among medical professionals.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Britain reached 1,372 as of Sunday, an increase of 232 over the last 24 hours, and 14 more people died, bringing the total number of deaths to 35, according to the health department.

Japan

Japan's health ministry and local governments said Monday the number of COVID-19 infections stood at 804 in Japan as of 10:30 a.m. local time.

Japan's health ministry and local governments said Monday the number of COVID-19 infections stood at 804 in Japan as of 10:30 a.m. local time.

REFERENCES AFP; Xinhua News Updates