WHO General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks at a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland on January 22, 2020. (Photo: Xinhua/ VNA)

A total of 39,000 patients of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) had been discharged from hospital after recovery by the end of Friday, Chinese health authority said Saturday. By the end of Friday, more than 79,000 confirmed cases had been reported on mainland China, and more than 2,800 people had died of the epidemic.

Regions around central South Korea remain a hotzone with more than 2,900 cases reported, resulting in 16 deaths. The country has recorded its largest rise in coronavirus infections in a single day, with 594 new cases confirmed in the past 24 hours, according to the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Iran has seen more than 820 infected cases and 21 deaths.

A 63-year-old woman has tested positive for the deadly virus in Queensland, Australian. She returned from Iran and is now being held in isolation at Gold Coast University Hospital, Queensland chief health officer Dr Jeanette Young said.

Governor of Japan's Hokkaido Naomichi Suzuki declared a state of emergency of the northernmost prefecture on Friday due to the spread of COVID-19. He asked residents to remain indoors over the weekend as the virus has spread in the prefecture where at least 66 infections have been confirmed. Japan has reported more than 900 domestic cases of infection, with most linked to the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship previously quarantined near Tokyo.

World Health Organization officials said Friday they are increasing the risk assessment of coronavirus, which has spread to at least 49 countries in a matter of weeks, to “very high” at a global level.