The church built on the Bethlehem site revered as the birthplace of Jesus is to close after a suspected outbreak of the coronavirus, a church official said Thursday.

Japan plans to quarantine people coming from China and South Korea for two weeks to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, the Yomiuri daily reported on Thursday.

Anna Alexander, a property manager in Virginia Beach, Virginia, started the day Monday thinking that she might avoid shaking hands because of the coronavirus outbreak. Then somebody stuck out a hand to shake.

She took it.

Police in Lithuania intervened in a domestic dispute on Wednesday after a man locked his wife in the bathroom over fears that she may be carrying the coronavirus.

Italy on Wednesday closed all schools and universities until March 15 to help combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The government decision was announced moments after health officials said the death toll from COVID-19 had jumped to 107 and the number of cases had passed 3,000.

The pet dog of a coronavirus patient in Hong Kong was confirmed to be infected with the disease, in a likely case of human-to-animal transmission, authorities said on Wednesday. 

Countries rushed to protect their supply of masks on Wednesday as panic buying, hoarding and theft spread over fears of the deadly coronavirus epidemic, with global health officials warning that stocks of protective gear were rapidly dwindling.

Russia has banned the export of masks, respirators and hazmat suits to ensure access to the items for medics treating coronavirus patients and the public, under a decree published Wednesday.

Iraq on Wednesday confirmed the first death from the novel coronavirus in the country where a total of 31 cases have been reported.

Indonesian police seized over half a million face masks from a Jakarta-area warehouse after the country's first confirmed cases of coronavirus sparked panic buying and sent prices for prevention products skyrocketing.