Americans were put on notice Monday not to let up in the fight against the coronavirus, as a grim milestone of 10,000 deaths cast a pall over the first signs of optimism about the outbreak's trajectory.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday declared a month-long state of emergency in Tokyo and six other parts of the country over a spike in coronavirus cases.

The coronavirus pandemic is the biggest test that the European Union has faced in its history, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday, stressing that Germany is "ready to contribute" to boosting the bloc.

Norway's government said Monday it considered the coronavirus outbreak to be "under control" in the country.

The Lebanese Order of Physicians and its Society for Infectious Diseases & Antimicrobial Chemotherapy on Monday said there is urgent need to increase the number of lab tests related to the coronavirus pandemic, especially rapid tests.

“Rapid tests are much cheaper than PCR tests and they complement them when necessary,” LOP and the Society for Infectious Diseases said in a statement.

Spain declared Monday a fourth consecutive drop in the number of coronavirus-related deaths with 637 over the past 24 hours, the lowest number in nearly two weeks.

The new coronavirus has killed more than 70,000 people across the globe, the majority in Europe, according to an AFP tally Monday at 1100 GMT. 

A cruise ship that has accounted for a quarter of all COVID-19 deaths in Australia was allowed to dock near Sydney on Monday after 200 crew members began exhibiting coronavirus symptoms.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday the government plans to declare a state of emergency and proposed a stimulus package worth $1 trillion as new coronavirus infections spike in Tokyo and elsewhere.

More than 215,000 people have signed a petition urging French officials to let more doctors prescribe the anti-malaria drug chloroquine for coronavirus patients, a controversial proposal that has divided health experts worldwide.