Iran on Wednesday reported 121 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, bringing its overall number of fatalities to 3,993.

The World Health Organization's European office said Wednesday that despite seeing "positive signs" from some countries, it was too early to scale back measures aimed at containing the spread of the new coronavirus.

Doctors, researchers, even an army officer: the coronavirus pandemic has brought a diverse cast of experts into the media spotlight to guide the public through the crisis.

EU finance ministers failed on Wednesday to agree on a bailout plan to help hard hit member states face the coronavirus outbreak, after Italy refused to abandon its plea for "coronabonds" to share the burden.

After 11 weeks of lockdown, people went outdoors and by the thousands boarded the first trains and planes leaving Wuhan as the last restrictions on movement were lifted Wednesday in the Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic began.

Wuhan's unprecedented lockdown was a model for countries trying to stop the coronavirus. With the restrictions ending, Hubei's provincial capital begins another experiment: resuming business and ordinary life while preventing more illnesses.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stepped up measures to stem rapidly growing coronavirus cases in Turkey but his refusal to impose a full lockdown to keep the economy afloat is drawing criticism.

Authoritarian Turkmenistan gathered thousands of citizens for mass exercise events to mark World Health Day, state media said, ignoring the global trend for social distancing to fight the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

New York saw glimmers of hope in its coronavirus fight Tuesday, despite announcing a record number of deaths as it prepares to treat COVID-19 patients in a cathedral and on a ship.

Paris on Tuesday banned daytime jogging to keep people from bending anti-coronavirus lockdown rules as France breached 10,000 deaths due to the outbreak.

Thousands of travelers flocked to catch trains leaving Wuhan early on Wednesday, AFP reporters said, as authorities lifted a ban on outbound travel from the hard-hit city where the global coronavirus pandemic first emerged.