Sunbathers, surfers and tourists were banned from Bondi Beach on Saturday in efforts to contain the coronavirus, which has now infected more than 1,000 people in Australia.

Iran said Saturday that 123 more people had died from coronavirus, raising the official death toll to 1,556 in the Islamic republic, one of the world's worst affected countries.

Hundreds of millions of people worldwide kicked off the weekend under a coronavirus lockdown, as the global death toll accelerated sharply and the World Health Organization warned the young they were "not invincible".

The pandemic has completely upended lives across the planet, sharply restricting the movement of huge populations, shutting down schools and businesses, and forcing millions to work from home -- while many have lost their livelihoods entirely.

The United Arab Emirates on Friday reported the first two deaths from coronavirus in the country. 

China reported no new local cases of the deadly coronavirus for a third consecutive day Saturday, but confirmed the highest yet increase in infections from abroad.

The rate of infection has been slowing for weeks in China, while the rest of the world steps up measures to try and battle the raging pandemic.

The World Health Organization said Friday that the original epicenter in China of the coronavirus outbreak at last reporting no new cases gave hope to the rest of the world battling the pandemic.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday demanded that China share more data on the novel coronavirus as Beijing angrily accused him of lying and said Washington was trying to shift blame.

Britain on Friday announced tougher restrictions to fight the coronavirus outbreak, telling cafes, pubs, bars, restaurants, nightclubs, theaters and leisure centers to close.

President Donald Trump on Friday discounted the possibility of a national lockdown after two populous U.S. states -- California and New York -- issued tough new stay-at-home orders to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

Italy on Friday reported a record 627 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, taking its overall toll past 4,000 as the pandemic gathered pace despite government efforts to halt its spread.