COVID-19: South Korea reports 169 new coronavirus cases, total tops 1,100

SEOUL - South Korea's coronavirus case total jumped well into four figures on Wednesday (Feb 26) as authorities reported 169 new infections, taking the overall tally to 1,146, by far the largest outside China.

An 11th person had died of the disease, the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention added in a statement on its website.

The virus that started in Wuhan, a city in China has now infected well over 80,000 globally, killing at least 2,700.

COVID-19 has been spreading fast with new cases reported in the Middle East, Europe and other parts of the world, with more deaths in Italy and Iran.

Italy's Number of confirmed cases rises to 322. In Tehran, Iranian health officials said the number of confirmed cases in the country has risen to 95, with 15 confirmed deaths.