Coronavirus: Greatest test since World War Two, says UN chief

The current coronavirus outbreak is the biggest challenge for the world since World War Two, UN Secretary General António Guterres has warned.

He said it could bring a recession "that probably has no parallel in the recent past".

His warning comes amid dire predictions about the possible economic impact of measures imposed to fight the virus.

The number of confirmed cases around the world is now nearing 860,000, with more than 42,000 deaths.

The death toll in the US is now more than 4,000 - higher than the declared number of fatalities in China, where the outbreak began late last year.

Johns Hopkins University said 865 people had died in the past 24 hours in the US and in all more than 189,000 people in the country had been infected.