NATO said Thursday it had confirmed three cases of the novel coronavirus linked to its military headquarters in Belgium -- a civilian employee and two family members.

The employee had recently traveled to Italy, the European country most affected by COVID-19, which has killed more than 3,000 people worldwide, the vast majority in China.

Airlines face a revenue hit of up to $113 billion in 2020 due to coronavirus, a trade group warned Thursday, as more consumers cancel trips due to the outbreak.

Almost 300 million students worldwide faced weeks at home with Italy and India the latest to shut schools over the deadly new coronavirus, as health officials warned many countries were not doing enough to fight the outbreak.  

More than 97,000 people have been infected and over 3,300 have died worldwide from the virus, which by Thursday had reached more than 80 countries and territories.

The U.S. Congress passed an $8.3 billion emergency spending bill Thursday to address the coronavirus crisis as infections spread to at least 14 states and deaths reached 11.

The Vatican said on Thursday it was considering changes to Pope Francis's schedule "to avoid the dissemination" of the new coronavirus that has killed 148 people and infected hundreds in Italy.

Britain on Thursday announced its first death from coronavirus within the country, as the total number of confirmed cases jumped to 115.

"I am very sorry to report a patient in England who tested positive for COVID-19 has sadly died," England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty said in a statement.

The Palestinians announced Thursday a two-week ban on tourists visiting cities in the occupied West Bank, the tourism minister said, after the first suspected cases of coronavirus in the territory.

The United States and Israel have scrapped the remainder of their joint military exercise Juniper Cobra 20 over the coronavirus outbreak, the US European Command based in Germany said Thursday.

Iran on Thursday reported 15 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, raising the national toll to 107, and said it would keep schools and universities closed until early April.

Bosnia reported on Thursday its first confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, in a man who recently travelled to Italy and his child.