The British government took over the railways on Monday in a bid to ensure services keep running for key workers during the coronavirus outbreak.

More than one billion people have been asked to stay home in more than 50 countries and territories around the world as governments battle the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe, according to an AFP tally Monday. 

Iran on Monday announced 127 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, raising the official toll to 1,812 in one of the worst hit countries along with Italy, Spain and China.

A French doctor caring for coronavirus patients has died of the illness, authorities said Sunday, the first such death in the country that is grappling with the mushrooming outbreak. 

Ottawa will recall parliament, suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, to vote on emergency economic aid measures, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday.

Dubai's famous malls will shut down for a fortnight under the United Arab Emirates' plan to curb coronavirus, which will also see its airports closed to passenger and transit flights.

The decision to close commercial centres takes in shopping centres as well as fresh food markets, but pharmacies and food retail outlets will be allowed to stay open. Restaurants are limited to home deliveries. 

The Syrian government has announced the first case of the novel coronavirus in the war-torn country, days after starting measures to stem the spread of the pandemic.

People in central China where the coronavirus was first detected are allowed to go back to work and public transport is restarting, as some normality slowly returns after a two-month lockdown. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will quarantine herself at home after being treated by a doctor who has since tested positive for the novel coronavirus, a government spokesman said Sunday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Sunday the coronavirus outbreak was "accelerating", as fears grew that the crisis in Britain was following the same path as the one devastating Italy.

Johnson's plea came after latest health department figures showed that 233 people have died from COVID-19 in the UK, with the number of those testing positive for the virus standing at 5,018.