The White House plans to spend a total of $2.5 billion fighting the deadly new coronavirus as infections mushroom around the globe, US media reported Monday.

The novel coronavirus outbreak in South Korea is "very grave", President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday as he visited its epicentre and the country's total number of cases approached 1,000.

Sport in Italy is being heavily disrupted by a surge in the number of new coronavirus cases but Napoli's Champions League match against Barcelona in the south of the country on Tuesday is not at risk.

As Italian authorities battle to contain the new coronavirus, measures to stem the spread of infections in the industrial north are impairing the eurozone's third-largest economy.

The new coronavirus hit four more Middle Eastern states on Monday, with Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Oman reporting new cases and the UAE calling on its citizens not to travel to Iran and Thailand.

The World Health Organization warned countries on Monday to be ready for a "potential pandemic" as new deaths and infections in Europe, the Middle East and Asia triggered more drastic efforts to contain the new coronavirus.

The number of fatalities in China -- where the virus emerged late last year -- also continued to soar, with 150 more deaths taking the official toll to nearly 2,600.

A bus that arrived in the French city of Lyon from Milan in Italy was sealed off for several hours Monday after the driver showed symptoms of possible coronavirus infection, security sources said.

Pakistan began quarantining at least 200 people near the Iranian border, officials said Monday, as fears spiralled over the growing toll from the coronavirus in the region amid allegations of a coverup in Iran.

The quarantine announcement came hours after Pakistan sealed off its land border with Iran while neighbouring Afghanistan said it had detected its first infection. 

Italy reported its seventh death from the new coronavirus Monday, but officials called for calm and reported a lower rise in the number of infections after a spike over the weekend.

Iran's government vowed Monday to be transparent after being accused of covering up the deadliest coronavirus outbreak outside China, dismissing a lawmaker's claim the toll could be as high as 50.