Coronavirus: window of containment 'narrowing' after Iran deaths, WHO warns

Towns in northern Italy placed on lockdown after first fatality as virus is spreads in Middle East, with confirmed cases in Lebanon and Israel

Four Iranians have died after contracting the coronavirus, with health authorities warning it has spread to multiple cities, while Israel and Lebanon declared their first domestic cases as the deadly epidemic spreads across the Middle East.

Asked on Friday if the new cases put the crisis at a tipping point, the World Health Organization director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the "window of opportunity is narrowing, so we need to act quickly before it closes completely".