South Korean President Moon Jae-in has declared "war" against the coronavirus, placing all government agencies on a 24-hour emergency footing as the country's total cases - the largest in the world outside China - soared past 5,000.
It comes as WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that "we are in uncharted territory".
"We have never before seen a respiratory pathogen that is capable of community transmission, but which can also be contained with the right measures," Dr Tedros said.
Meanwhile in the UK, the Government has published a 28-page coronavirus "battle plan". It reveals that the Army is on standby and police will be told to stop investigating lower level crime.
Coronavirus in India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweets that there is 'no need' to panic despite three new confirmed cases in India.
He advised people to seek professional medical care if they suffer from coughing, difficulty breathing or a fever and ignore quack advice.
There is no need to panic. We need to work together, take small yet important measures to ensure self-protection. pic.twitter.com/sRRPQlMdtr
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 3, 2020
One lawmaker from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the north-east state of Assam had attracted derision for telling sufferers to use urine from cows - considered a holy animal by India's Hindu majority - to fight the virus.
There does appear to be genuine concern across India's capital today for the first time with chemists selling out of facemasks and #CoronavirusReachesDelhi trending on Twitter.'
South Korea declares 'war' on coronavirus
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has declared "war" against the coronavirus, placing all government agencies on a 24-hour emergency footing as the country's total cases - the largest in the world outside China - approached 5,000.
South Korea has seen a rapid rise in infections in recent days and scores of events - from K-pop concerts to sports seasons - have been cancelled or postponed over the contagion, with school and kindergarten breaks extended by three weeks nationwide, AFP reports.
The central bank has warned of negative growth in the first quarter for the world's 12th-largest economy, noting the epidemic will hit both consumption and exports.
Mr Moon said the government will inject more than 30 trillion won (US$25 billion) into the economy to address the "grave" situation brought on by the outbreak.
"The entire country has entered a war with the infectious disease," Moon said, ordering all government agencies to operate around the clock.
South Korea confirmed 477 new cases Tuesday, with two more deaths taking the toll to 28, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.
More than half of the cases have been linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a secretive religious group often described as a cult.
Read more: Coronavirus: Death toll in U.S. rises to 6
The United States on Tuesday confirmed its sixth case of coronavirus in the country as the virus took root in the country's Pacific Northwest.
Worldwide, close to 3,100 people have succumbed to the illness even as a clear shift in the crisis was emerging, with nine times as many cases recorded outside China as inside, according to the UN health agency.
WHO expressed confidence with Pakistan on coronavirus outbreak
World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed confidence in the way the Pakistani government has handled the novel coronavirus outbreak in the country.
“I am impressed by the swift and diligent way, the government has handled the crisis so far,” WHO’s Pakistan representative Dr Palitha Mahipala said.
He added the health organisation was committed to supporting the country every step of the way.
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