Iran's schools closed as death toll rises

Schools and universities in Iran will remain closed until early April, the country's health minister has said.

Saeed Namaki told reporters that schools and universities would remain closed until the end of the current Iranian year.

The Iranian year ends on 19 March, and there are then national holidays until early April.

"People should not consider this as an opportunity to go travelling," Mr Namaki said. "They should stay home and take our warnings seriously. This virus is highly contagious - it is a serious matter, do not joke about it."

Iran is one of the worst-hit countries outside China. Its official death toll has also risen by 15 to a total of 107, and the number of cases has increased by 591 - bringing the total number of cases to 3,513.

Officials have already suspended large cultural and sports events and have reduced working hours.

Thailand's full moon party cancelled

Thailand's raucous full moon party - which draws some 10,000 backpackers - has been cancelled this month due to the coronavirus outbreak.

"To prevent the spread of Covid-19, [the organisers] have voted to suspend the party," a local official said.

Thailand currently has 47 confirmed cases of the virus.

The country is expecting to shed around six million of its average 40 million tourists this year because of the outbreak in Asia.

Two more deaths in France

French officials have reported two more deaths linked to the coronavirus outbreak, bringing the total number of deaths to six.

France has also registered 92 new confirmed cases, taking the total toll of cases to 377.

Chinese president delays Japan visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping has postponed his April visit to Japan, ending weeks of speculation about whether the trip would go ahead or not.

As the two countries struggle to contain Covid-19, a visit next month would have been too much to handle for both sides. Preparations for the visit were hampered by the virus outbreak, even though officials made multiple visits to make it happen.

Mr Xi would have been the first Chinese president to visit Japan as a state guest in more than a decade and was also expected to meet Emperor Naruhito.

Japanese media are seeing the delay as a “setback” for Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, who has recently advocated for improving Chinese-Japanese relations.

Japanese news agency Kyodo reports that the visit might be cancelled altogether amid mounting criticism against Mr Xi in Japan for his handling of human rights and territorial issues.

Cases in the Netherlands 'more than double'

The number of recorded cases of coronavirus in the Netherlands has more than doubled from 38 to 82, Reuters news agency reports.

The rise in cases comes as the country tries to put in place a plan for some 900 students due to return from skiing holidays in northern Italy.

The group, members of a fraternity in the northern Dutch city of Groningen, travelled to Sestriere in the Italian Alps before the Dutch government changed its travel advice to say all trip to the region should be cancelled unless necessary.

However, Hanneke Mensink, the local health authorities' spokeswoman, told Reuters they had been warned before they left at the weekend.

"We told them our worries, but they decided to go anyway. That is their responsibility."