The world recorded at least 79,774 cases of nCoV and 2,630 deaths, while Chinese health officials have not released the latest figures.

The number of nCoV infections in South Korea and Italy has increased sharply in the past 24 hours. South Korea currently records 833 infections, while Italy is 229, making the two countries the second and fourth largest outbreak in the world, after mainland China and the Diamond Princess yacht.

The world currently records 79,774 cases, 2,630 deaths and 25,353 people have been cured. The United States has 53 cases of nCoV infection nationwide, but President Donald Trump asserts that the country is well controlling the disease.

Hubei Provincial Health Committee, Covid-19 province, and China National Health Committee have not released data on February 25. China has released new data several hours later than previously.

Covid-19's spread did not diminish when Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Oman reported the first cases. In Iran, the death toll has risen to 12, the second highest worldwide, after mainland China.

However, there were concerns that the situation was worse than the official announcement when a MP in Qom City said that 50 people had died from nCoV there since February 13. The Iranian government rejected the information, pledging to make the data transparent. Officials report 64 cases of infection in Iran, meaning the death rate is very high.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday that Covid-19 was not a pandemic but could become a pandemic if nations do not cooperate to slow the spread. "This is a common threat. We can only face it together and overcome it," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu.

A team of WHO experts has just finished its mission in China, reporting that the epidemic reached its peak from January 23 to February 2 and the number of cases has been decreasing, but a sudden increase in infections in South Korea, Italy and Iran are very worrying.

The European Commission has spent 232 million euros (about 252 million USD) to help stop the worldwide virus spread. France, Germany and Sweden also announced contributions to this effort.

The WHO team of health experts and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control have arrived in Italy, the largest outbreak in Europe. The team will assist the Italian government in understanding the situation with a focus on restricting human-to-human transmission.

The WHO says it is concerned about the rapid increase of infections in Italy. However, the majority of current infections have only mild or no symptoms.

The Covid-19 outbreak has been reported in 37 countries and territories after its onset in Wuhan, China in December 2019. NCoV deaths outside mainland China have been reported in Japan, South Korea, France, the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Iran and Italy.