A British man who tested positive for coronavirus after travelling on the Diamond Princess cruise ship has died, Japan's Kyodo news agency says.

The UK Foreign Office says it is investigating the reports.

Iran has cancelled Friday prayers in Tehran and 22 other provincial capitals for the first time in decades to limit the spread of the new coronavirus disease.

Senior Shia clerics have rejected calls for the shrines to be closed, with Ayatollah Mohammed Saeedi, the custodian of the Hazrat Masumeh shrine, saying that it should be kept open as a "house for cure".

Meanwhile, Muslims are taking precautions in other parts of the Middle East.

Kuwait's Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs said Friday sermons should not exceed 10 minutes and Bahraini mosques have also shortened Friday prayers, AFP news agency reports.

Saudi Arabia has temporarily halted religious visits to Mecca and Medina.

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Amazon has banned more than one million products which claim to protect against the coronavirus - or even cure it.

The online retailer told Reuters it had also removed "tens of thousands" of overpriced health products from unscrupulous sellers.

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If you're just joining us, welcome. These are some of the things you need to know about the outbreak of coronavirus today:

• The World Health Organization says most if not all countries should expect outbreaks of the coronavirus
• Stock markets across the globe are suffering their worst week since 2008
• Two hotels in Abu Dhabi are under lockdown as medical staff screen guests. Cyclists and crew who are part of the UAE Tour had been staying there and two Italian staff members have tested positive
• The Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido has declared a state of emergency
• Switzerland has banned big public events and the Geneva Car Show has been cancelled
• More than 50 countries have now confirmed cases, with Nigeria the first in sub-Saharan Africa to report an infection

The two hotels placed on a "preventative quarantine" had been hosting cyclists and crew for the UAE Tour race.

Reports said two of the race's Italian staff members tested positive, prompting containment measures on Yas Island, popular with overseas visitors and home to several tourist attractions.

BBC Sport said riders at the event, including Britain's Chris Froome, are now being tested for the virus.

Organisers have confirmed the next stages of the race have been cancelled.

Helier Cheung
BBC News

Many pharmacies in Washington DC have been out of face masks for weeks - as people attempt to stockpile masks or buy masks to send them to their families abroad.

One pharmacy, CVS, has even started putting out notices explaining that masks may be unavailable due to high demand, and asking customers to be patient.

Image source, W Hotels

One of the two hotels placed under a preventative quarantine in Abu Dhabi tells the BBC "no one can leave or enter the property until it is deemed safe to do so".

A spokeswoman for the W Abu Dhabi confirmed it had been placed under a "temporary lockdown" and that all guests were currently undergoing screening.

She added: "The safety and well-being of our guests is of paramount important to us and we will comply with the direction provided by the authorities."

The W - owned by hotel giant Marriott - said it was rebooking guests arriving on Friday to its sister hotels nearby.

The governor of Hokkaido in the north of Japan has declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus.

At least 66 infections have been confirmed in the prefecture – one of the worst affected parts of the country. The governor Naomichi Suzuki is asking residents to remain at home over the weekend.

One of the simplest things you can do is to wash your hands, say Dr Adele McCormick from the University of Westminster.

Two hotels in Abu Dhabi are under preventative quarantine over coronavirus concerns, the United Arab Emirates state news agency Wam reports.

It comes after the UAE Tour cycling event was abandoned after two Italian staff members of one of the teams taking part tested positive for the virus.

All riders and staff as well as race officials are to undergo testing for the virus at a hotel, organisers said.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair a meeting of an emergency contingency committee - known as Cobra - to discuss the British government's response to the coronavirus outbreak.

In a statement, Downing Street said: "The prime minister is keen to chair Cobra on Monday to ensure that everything that can be done is being done."

Mr Johnson visited a hospital in the town of Kettering in the early hours of Friday and discussed NHS preparations with doctors.

The total number of positive cases of the virus in the UK rose to 19 on Friday.

The World Health Organization has reiterated its warning that the coronavirus could reach most "if not all countries", Reuters news agency reports.

The outbreak is "getting bigger", WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said.

More than 50 countries have reported coronavirus cases so far.

The new coronavirus is continuing to spread to new countries, with the World Health Organization saying there are now more new cases outside China than inside.

Let's look at the different ways five countries are dealing with the outbreak.

Imogen Foulkes
BBC News, Geneva

This is a drastic measure, but one the government, with an eye on Switzerland’s long and open border with Italy, hopes will control the virus.

All confirmed cases in Switzerland have links to Italy. Those affected are in isolation, their contacts, numbering at least 100, are in quarantine.

The ban on public gatherings is intended to stop the virus spreading from person to person within Switzerland. It might work, but its economic effects will be huge: the Geneva Motor Show will not go ahead, neither will the Geneva Watch Fair, even the UN Human Rights Council, currently in session, is in doubt.

Like all governments dealing with this crisis, the Swiss government is caught between public health officials urging strict control measures, an anxious public that needs reassurance, and business leaders who point out that Switzerland’s strong economy depends on international trade and tourism.

An Italian journalist in London, Federico Gatti of broadcaster Mediaset, reports some harassment of Italians in London linked to the coronavirus emergency.

He told the BBC he had heard from two Italian families in London “whose kids were subject to verbal abuse by other kids in school, because of their nationality”. One of the fathers called it “a minor episode”.

But Gatti said “throughout this week I’ve received calls and texts from Italians in the UK about verbal abuse or discrimination”.

“Yesterday I interviewed an young Italian professional whose family was coming over from Naples. Her landlord forbade her to have her parents visit her, or simply to open the door to them. That’s illegal, and she’s going to get legal counselling for this.”

Gatti tweeted about the discrimination reports on 26 February.

“In six hours on that day I received four reports from Italians in London: a TV producer, a banker, a woman dentist and the young professional. I see it as all linked to coronavirus."

Two South African nationals working aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship have contracted coronavirus, according to the country's health ministry.

It quoted Japanese officials as saying the two patients were not outwardly displaying symptoms of the virus but were being treated in Japan.

The vessel had at least 3,700 people on board the ship, which is quarantined off Yokahama port.

Ten other South African crew members are still on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship, and won't be allowed to disembark until they pass a two-week quarantine period and test negative for the virus.

Passengers are being prioritised for disembarking before crew, the South African health ministry said quoting the cruise company.

Image source, Getty Images

With more and more cases announced, it's clear that coronavirus is continuing to spread rapidly outside China. People in more than 50 countries have now been infected as governments battle to halt its spread.

Iran and Italy have become major centres of infection, with people travelling from there spreading the virus further afield.

Iran's health ministry says 34 people in the country have now died, while 388 cases have been confirmed so far. Just a day earlier, the official death toll stood at 26, with 245 cases of infection.

Several top officials have contracted the virus including Masoumeh Ebtekar - the highest-ranking woman in the Iranian government.

Officials have been accused of hiding the true scale of the outbreak. But Iran says it has arrested "rumour-mongers" in the country.

Iran has been the source of dozens of cases in neighbouring countries, including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman and Pakistan.

Within hours, the Netherlands has gone from having no confirmed coronavirus cases to two.

Health officials say a patient in Amsterdam tested positive for the virus on Thursday night after another case was confirmed in the southern city of Tilburg.

Both had recently travelled to northern Italy, but authorities said the patients had "no link" to each other. The two are now being held in isolation.

The Geneva Motor Show - one of the most important auto industry gatherings of the year - is the latest big event to be cancelled. The decision was prompted by an order from the Swiss federal government, banning gatherings of more than 1000 people, in an effort to restrict the spread of the virus.

Image source, Reuters