In Saudi Arabia

Iran will temporarily close schools in two cities because of the danger of a coronavirus spread, TASS reported.

Authorities in the country have decided to close schools, universities and educational centers.

Schools, universities and other schools in the city of Arak will be closed throughout the week, health authorities said on Iranian state television.

Two Iranians have died in hospital after being infected with the new coronavirus in the holy Shi'ite city, Iranian Mehr news agency quoted Reuters as saying.

Iranian authorities have confirmed two cases of the new coronavirus today, which are the first in the country, the Iranian news agency reported. There are an unspecified number of other people suspected of being infected and put in quarantine.

More than 300 American cruise liner passengers, including 14 who tested positive for coronavirus, were flown home to military bases in the United States after two weeks under quarantine off Japan.

The number of new coronavirus cases in China fell on Feb. 16 and a health official said intense efforts to stop its spread were beginning to work, as another 70 people tested positive on a virus-stricken cruise ship quarantined in Japan.

An 80-year-old Chinese tourist has died from the new coronavirus in France, which is the first confirmed death from the disease outside Asia, according to the country's health ministry.

The Chinese tourist is from Hubei Province. She arrived in France on January 16 and was quarantined at a hospital on January 25.

The death toll in China from the coronavirus outbreak has risen to 1,381, the country's National Health Commission said on Feb. 14.

Authorities said 63,851 confirmed cases have been reported, while in the last 24 hours, 121 people have died and more than 5,090 new cases have been detected.

All 42 people quarantined in Turkey after evacuation from Wuhan, China, were discharged from hospital on Feb. 14.

Turkey's health minister said none of the individuals -- 32 Turkish nationals, six Azerbaijanis, three Georgians, and one Albanian -- showed any signs of Covid-19, the disease caused by the deadly coronavirus.

First death due to the coronavirus in Japan. According to Katsunobu Kato, the country's health, labor and social security minister, an 80-year-old woman in Kanagawa Prefecture has died from the virus, RIA Novosti reports.

A Chinese man is being treated at the capital's Attikon Hospital on suspicion of being a coronavirus carrier.
The 33-year-old began showing symptoms pointing to coronavirus after travelling from China to Greece.
He will remain quarantined at the hospital until final results are received.
So far, there have been no cases of coronavirus infections in Greece.