The number of coronavirus cases in Australia has jumped to 116 after New South Wales confirmed six new people had tested positive during the past 24 hours.

They included four women aged from their 30s to 60s, and two men, in their 50s and 60s, NSW Health revealed on Wednesday night after an additional eight cases of coronavirus were confirmed earlier that day.

Recent arrivals from Italy, the US and Switzerland were among the latest patients to be diagnosed with the virus.

Three new people had tested positive for COVID-19 in Victoria on Tuesday – bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 18.

One of the latest cases included a man in his 70s who recently returned from Los Angeles.

Death tolls jump

The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in Italy has jumped by 168 in just one day, as Italians face the most severe restrictions on their everyday lives since World War II.

The official number of fatalities from the coronavirus outbreak has risen from 463 to 631 in 24 hours in what Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte described as Italy’s “darkest hour”.

It comes after the country went into lockdown, with shops and restaurants closed, hundreds of flights cancelled and streets emptied on the first day of an unprecedented, nationwide lockdown.

SEEN IN KIGALI: To prevent the risk of #Coronavirus outbreak, passengers at the Kigali Bus Park have to wash their hands before getting onto buses.#Rwanda has recorded NO case of the epidemic but the country has stepped up vigilance. pic.twitter.com/tb7cfUNj7K

— The New Times (Rwanda) (@NewTimesRwanda) March 9, 2020

The government has told all Italians to stay at home and avoid all non-essential travel until April 3 after unexpectedly expanding the so-called red zone from the worst-hit northern regions to the entire country.

Meanwhile, Iran recorded 54 new deaths from the coronavirus, making it the country’s largest death toll over a 24-hour period.

Iran’s death toll from the virus now stands at 291, and the total number of infections has risen to more than 8000, the Health Ministry said.

The latest data shows more than 118,000 people have been infected worldwide and 4262 have died from the virus.

US President Donald Trump said he has not been tested and has no symptoms of the virus after being examined by the White House physician.

He was on Air Force One on Monday with Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, who announced hours later he would self-quarantine because he had come in contact at a political conference with an attendee who later tested positive for the coronavirus.

“I don’t think it’s a big deal. I would do it. I don’t feel that any reason … I feel extremely good. I feel very good,” Mr Trump told reporters in Washington following a meeting with Senate Republicans on the coronavirus response.

-with AAP