Coronavirus: Death toll passes 10,000, confirmed cases near 250,000

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The number of people who have died after testing positive for coronavirus has passed 10,000.

There have been a total of 244,523 confirmed cases of coronavirus globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. China still has the most confirmed cases with 81,199, followed by Italy with 41,035.

The death toll in Italy has now surpassed China after the number of deaths rose by 427 over 24 hours. According to the latest figures, 3,405 people have now died from the disease in Italy, ahead of 3,245 in China.

As the number of cases rises more countries are turning to draconian measures in a bid to curb the spread of infection.