Fears have mounted over the rise of new cases and fatalities outside China from the new coronavirus outbreak, as the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of a shrinking window to stem the spread of the deadly disease. Photo: Aljazeera

The warning came as the first deaths from the new COVID-19 strain were reported in the Middle East and Europe. COVID-19, as the new coronavirus is known, first emerged in December in central China but has now spread to over 25 countries and caused more than a dozen deaths outside the country. 

The death toll reached five in Iran, and a number of cases were reported across the Middle East, including the first infections in Israel and Lebanon. On Friday, a 78-year old Italian man died after testing positive for the virus and a second death was reported on Saturday.

A second person died in South Korea, authorities reported on Saturday, as the number of cases in the country spiked to 433.

Italy has locked down 10 towns and asked more than 50,000 people to stay home - echoing China's lockdown of entire cities in Hubei province at the centre of the outbreak. The second victim, a woman, died in the northern region of Lombardy, a spokesman for the Italian Civil Protection agency said on Saturday.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the "window of opportunity" to contain the international spread of the outbreak was "narrowing", as cases surged across the Middle East and in South Korea.

He warned that if countries did not quickly mobilise to fight the spread of the virus, "this outbreak could go in any direction. It could ... be messy".