Fears of a coronavirus pandemic are growing after a sixth person died in Italy amid a rapid spread of cases there and in South Korea and Iran.
Italy has locked down towns, cancelled Venice Carnival events and disinfected boats and gondolas in the lagoon city in a desperate bid to halt a surge in infections.
A passenger on a British Airways plane travelling from London Heathrow to Milan refused to fly at the last minute due to coronavirus fears.
The UK has four new cases - bringing the total to 13 - after Britons rescued from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan tested positive for the flu-like virus.
More than 79,500 people - all but 2,400 in China - have been infected during the global health emergency and more than 2,600 - mostly in China - have died.
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Afghanistan recorded its first death, Bahrain had its first case and North Korea has put foreigners in quarantine as health experts warned that the outbreak was on the verge of becoming a pandemic.
The number of people infected with coronavirus in northern Italy soared to 213 on Monday as a sixth person died and more than 20 were in a critical condition.
Italian media said the sixth person to die was a cancer patient in the northern town of Brescia.
The five others were elderly and at least four of them had been suffering serious underlying health problems.
In Venice - a city visited by tens of thousands of foreign tourists every day - the Carnival was halted and public transport was disinfected.
Two cases were reported there as Italy sealed off the worst-affected towns and banned public gatherings in the north of the country.
Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said a task force would meet to discuss whether to introduce border controls with Italy.
Almost 225 passengers and crew on an Alitalia plane that landed in Mauritius were told they would have to go into quarantine because of local concerns over the coronavirus.
Forty people from Lombardy and Veneto decided to fly back to Italy due to the threat.
A flight was being organised back to Italy "although nobody declared symptoms of illness", the Alitalia statement said.
A British Airways flight from Heathrow to Milan had pushed back from its gate when a passenger decided that they didn't want to fly just before the scheduled take-off.
The plane returned to the terminal so the passenger could disembark.
A BA spokeswoman said: "As with all our customers, we will always respect their wishes if they change their mind about flying at the last minute.
"The flight left within a few minutes of its scheduled departure time."
NBC News journalist Molly Hunter, who was on the flight, tweeted: "At #Heathrow, our BA #Milan flight is delayed - the captain just announced there are passengers (I count 3) on board who don’t want to travel due to #coronavirus.
"Already pushed back... now re-attaching."
It is understood that only one person disembarked.
Meanwhile, South Korea reported 231 new cases, bringing its total to 833, as airlines suspended flights to Daegu, which has seen dozens of new infections.
Many new cases have been linked to a Christian sect in Daegu called the Shincheonji Church of Jesus and a 61-year-old worshipper who tested positive and is now known as "Patient 31".
Officials were testing about 9,500 people who joined services at a church attended by the woman.
Amid the outbreak, masks have sold out in shops in Daegu and museums and other public buildings have been shut.
South Korea has raised its coronavirus alert to the "highest level" as dozens of new cases are reported every day. Hong Kong issued a red travel alert to the country.
Afghanistan reported its first case on Monday in Herat, a western province that borders Iran.
The infected person had recently been in Iran, which has confirmed 61 cases and 12 deaths, mostly in the Shi'ite Muslim holy city of Qom.
Kuwait reported three cases involving people who had been in Iran and Iraq reported its first case, also involving a person who had been to Iran.
Middle Eastern countries imposed travel and immigration restrictions with Iran.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) had already expressed fears that the disease could reach countries with weak health systems.
The coronavirus outbreak began in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December, with the infection being passed to humans at a market that sold live animals and illegal wildlife.
In China, more than 2,600 people have died and more than 77,000 others have been infected.
Wuhan was locked down in January and an announcement on Monday that the city would relax some of its travel restrictions and allow people to leave was quickly revoked.
The local government said the announcement was not authorised.
The World Health Organisation said the coronavirus outbreak remained an international emergency.
Markets suffered further losses due to the spread of the virus. Oil prices tumbled and there were steep falls in Asian shares and Wall Street stock futures.
