China

In the lawsuit, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt alleges China did little to stop the spread of the virus.

Mr Schmitt claims Missouri residents have suffered possibly tens of billions of dollars in economic damages.

China's foreign ministry denounced the move, saying the "frivolous lawsuit has no factual or legal basis".

A spokesperson said: "Really absurd. Based on the principle of sovereign equality, US courts have NO jurisdiction over the Chinese government."

The number of deaths now stands at 3,405, which is more than in China where the virus originated last year.

There have been 3,245 reported deaths in China, but there have been questions over the reliability of its data.

A lockdown imposed on 12 March in Italy has been extended beyond the original 25 March end date. Nearly all Italians have been told to stay at home.

Despite these measures, the number of new cases and deaths has continued to spiral.

There have been 220,000 cases of the virus worldwide with more than 9,000 deaths.

His visit comes as China recorded its lowest number of infections, just 19 on Tuesday, all in Wuhan apart from two who had arrived from overseas.

China has seen 80,754 confirmed cases, 3,136 of whom have died.

The visit was Mr Xi's first trip to the city since the outbreak began.

According to state media, Mr Xi arrived in Wuhan on Tuesday to inspect epidemic prevention and control work in the province.

About 47 of the 70 had been pulled from the rubble of the five-storey Xinjia Hotel by Sunday, state media says.

Videos posted online show emergency workers combing through the building's wreckage in the southern province of Fujian.

It is not clear what caused the collapse or if anyone has died.

It happened at about 19:30 local time (11:30 GMT).

Chinese state media says the hotel was being used as a quarantine facility monitoring people who had had close contact with coronavirus patients.

The hotel reportedly opened in 2018 and had 80 guest rooms.

Travellers from the virus hotspots of South Korea, Japan, Iran and Italy arriving in the capital will have to be isolated, a Beijing official has said.

Shanghai and Guangdong announced similar restrictions earlier.

Authorities are worried the virus might be imported back into the country.

Although most virus deaths have been in China, Monday saw nine times more new infections outside China than in.

Shanghai said it would require new arrivals from countries with "relatively serious virus conditions" to be isolated, without naming the countries.

The only exception was on a cruise liner docked in Japan, where 44 new cases were reported, bringing the total there to 218.

There was also no major shift in the coronavirus's pattern of mortality or severity, according to the WHO.

Hubei recorded 242 deaths on Wednesday, the deadliest day of the outbreak.

There was also a huge increase in cases, with 14,840 people diagnosed but most of this was down to Hubei using a broader definition to diagnose people, said Mike Ryan, head of WHO's health emergencies programme.

There was also a huge increase in the number of cases, with 14,840 people diagnosed with the virus.

Hubei has started using a broader definition to diagnose people - which accounts for most of the rise in cases.

Until Wednesday's increases, the number of people diagnosed in Hubei - where the outbreak emerged - was stabilising.

But the new cases and deaths in the province have pushed the national death toll above 1,350 - with almost 60,000 cases in total.

Wearing a face mask, Mr Xi also visited a community health centre, where he had his temperature checked.

More than 900 people have been killed by the virus, the gravest public health crisis in China since Sars in 2002-3.

During his visit, Mr Xi urged "more decisive measures" to combat the virus.

The Chinese leader has kept a low profile over weeks as the outbreak has worsened. He is yet to visit Wuhan, where the virus first emerged.

In China's Hubei province alone, the epicentre of the latest outbreak, the death toll now is put at 780 by regional health officials.

All but one of the overall total of 803 deaths have so far been in mainland China and Hong Kong.

In 2003, 774 people were killed by Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in more than two dozen countries.

More than 34,800 people have been infected with the new coronavirus worldwide, the vast majority in China.

Last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency over the new outbreak.

Out of fear, Ben Mendel had booked a flight back to PNG through the Philippines but found it had been cancelled when he arrived at the airport.

"Because of the virus, I tried to go back to PNG to stay with my parents and once the situation here is a little bit okay, I planned to come back," Mr Mendel said.

"Unfortunately that didn't eventuate because of the flight ban in Manila."

Promised only a 45 percent refund by the airline, the first year student returned to his school, the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.