Coronavirus cases in China fall below those in the rest of the world

The number of new confirmed coronavirus cases in the People's Republic of China fell again, reaching its lowest level since the outbreak began, according to the World's health watchdog.

And for the first time, they also fell below the number of new cases registered outside the country.

Algeria also became the first state in the Africa region to register cases, while Austria, Croatia and Switzerland joined the list of countries in Europe with cases.

According to the World Health Organisation's 37th update on the staus of the COVID-19 virus, the number of new Chinese cases slipped to 412, taking the total there to 78,191, alongside a 52 person increase in the number of deaths to 2,718.

In the rest of the world, the number of new cases increased by 459, with the number of fatalities up by 9 to 43.

New cases at the outbreak's epicentre in the province of Hubei also decreased, from 499 to 401, while the number of suspected cases in Hubei, which are not included in the tally of new cases, declined from 373 to 311.

Falls were also registered in the number of suspected cases in Beijing and Shanghai.

The latest update from the WHO is based on the information available as of 0900 GMT on 25 February.