Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) Robert Redfield (front) speaks during a press conference with members of the White House coronavirus task force in the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on March 2, 2020. CDC announced Monday that there are currently 91 cases of COVID-19 in the country, up from just 60 cases a day ago. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

The new coronavirus appears to now be spreading much more rapidly outside China than within, and airports in hard-hit countries were ramping up screening of travelers.

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said almost eight times as many cases had been reported outside China than inside in the previous 24 hours, adding that the risk of coronavirus spreading was now very high at a global level.

At a briefing in Geneva, he said outbreaks in South Korea, Italy, Iran and Japan were the greatest concern, but there was evidence that close surveillance was working in South Korea, the worst affected country outside China, and the epidemic could be contained there.

US Vice President Mike Pence said that within 12 hours, airports across South Korea and Italy will screen all travelers for coronavirus. Pence, who has been put in charge of the US response to the outbreak, also said US travel restrictions may expand.

The head of the US Food and Drug Administration said US industries are expected to have the capacity to perform one million coronavirus tests by the end of the week.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday his government was ready to deploy further fiscal stimulus measures if needed to protect the country's already fragile economy from the negative effects of the coronavirus.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in declared "war" against the coronavirus Tuesday, placing all government agencies on a 24-hour emergency footing.

The global death toll exceeded 3,000, with the number of fatalities in Iran jumping to 77. Iran has also banned visits to hospitals and nursing homes as the country's total cases hit over 2,300.

South Korea has had 29 deaths and reported another 851 infections on Tuesday, taking its tally to 5,186.

COVID-19 Infections in Italy, Europe's hardest-hit country, has exceeded 2,000 cases with 52 deaths.

Latvia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal and Morocco reported cases for the first time, bringing the total to more than 70 countries with the illness known as COVID-19.

But equity markets surged after their worst plunge since the 2008 financial crisis last week, encouraged by the prospect of government action to stem the economic impact. In the US, the Dow jumped nearly 1,300 points, or five percent, while the S&P 500 closed 4.6 percent higher.

Finance ministers of the G7 group of leading industrialized democracies were expected to discuss measures in a conference call on Tuesday, sources told Reuters.

Oil prices jumped four percent amid hopes of a deeper output cut by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Reuters