South Korea went on high alert Sunday following a sharp jump in coronavirus cases, and
Italy and
Iran took their own drastic containment steps as an epidemic that has killed nearly 2,500 people in
China continued a relentless global expansion.
The World Health Organization (WHO) also warned that Africa's poor health systems left it vulnerable to the COVID-19 disease, which spilled out of China to more than 25 countries.
South Korea is raising the nation's alert to its "highest" level, President
Moon Jae-in said on Sunday after the number of infections nearly tripled over the weekend to 556.