Britain reported a record daily coronavirus toll of 381 on Tuesday, including a 13-year-old boy, more than double the number of nationwide deaths posted in the previous 24 hours.

China's decision to lock down the city of Wuhan, ground zero for the global COVID-19 pandemic, may have prevented more than 700,000 new cases by delaying the spread of the virus, researchers said Tuesday.

Queen Tex factory in Gaza used to specialise in manufacturing shirts and jeans, but with the novel coronavirus epidemic sweeping the globe it has pivoted into medicalwear.

Emergency field hospitals were readied in New York's Central Park and at the home of the US Open tennis tournament as the number of American deaths from the coronavirus pandemic surged past 4,000 -- higher than the toll in China.

More than 40,000 people have been killed in the coronavirus pandemic as the disease barrels across the globe, with the U.S. bracing for its darkest hours after its death toll surpassed China's on Tuesday. 

The operator of a coronavirus-stricken cruise ship and its sister vessel has pleaded for a port to allow them to dock, calling for "compassion" and warning that more passengers may die.

It will be at least another year before a vaccine against the new coronavirus will be ready for approval and available in sufficient quantities, the EU medicines agency said Tuesday.

The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 40,000 people worldwide with nearly three-quarters of the deaths in Europe, according to an AFP tally at 1620 GMT Tuesday using official figures.

A total of 40,057 deaths have been recorded across the world, including 29,305 in Europe, with Italy registering 12,428, followed by Spain with 8,189 and China with 3,305.

Is a homemade mask better than nothing at all? With an unknown number of asymptomatic virus carriers, some experts are advising people to fashion their own face coverings to prevent them spreading the disease.   

France is rushing to produce millions of face masks and thousands of ventilators as reliance on imports to fight the coronavirus has exposed the country's need for "independence" in producing vital medical equipment, President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday.