More than 900,000 cases of coronavirus have been officially detected worldwide since the pandemic emerged in China late last year, according to an AFP tally at 1900 GMT on Wednesday using official sources.

Italy on Wednesday extended its economically-crippling lockdown until April 13 to help stem coronavirus infections that have claimed 13,115 lives.

Britain on Wednesday recorded its biggest day-on-day increase in coronavirus deaths, as the government came under renewed pressure for its failure to mass test frontline medical staff, let alone the wider community.

A total of 2,352 people with COVID-19 have now died, up 563 on the previous day, out of 29,474 confirmed cases, an increase of 4,324, health ministry figures showed.

The United States on Wednesday has surpassed 200,000 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.

The World Health Organization said Wednesday it was deeply concerned about the near-exponential escalation of the new coronavirus pandemic, with the number of deaths doubling in a week.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has decided to handle his duties remotely, the Kremlin said Wednesday, after the head of the country's main coronavirus hospital tested positive following a meeting with the president.

The coronavirus death toll in Spain surged over 9,000 on Wednesday after a record 864 deaths in 24 hours, with the number of confirmed cases passing the 100,000 mark, the government said. 

The coronavirus pandemic is the worst global crisis since World War II, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday, expressing concern that it could trigger conflicts around the world.

The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 30,000 people in Europe, more than three-quarters of the deaths registered in Italy and Spain, according to an AFP tally at 0700 GMT Wednesday using official figures.

China on Wednesday said it has more than 1,300 asymptomatic coronavirus cases, the first time it has released such data following public concern over people who have tested positive but are not showing symptoms.