The United States has warned against international travel due to the pandemic and advised citizens to come home if possible, while California has gone on virus lockdown.
In the most drastic step yet by a US state to contain the fast-spreading coronavirus California was placed under lockdown. California Governor Gavin Newsom said the state's lockdown - affecting more than 39 million people - would begin yesterday evening in a "recognition of our interdependence".
The US meanwhile is fast-tracking antimalarial drugs for use as a virus treatment, President Donald Trump said, as he lashed out at China for not informing the world earlier about the original outbreak.