On the same day, UN General Assembly President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande and the Economic and Social Council called for an informal meeting for member states to hear a briefing by the UN Secretariat on the threat of the novel coronavirus at the UN premises.

The meeting, held on next Tuesday, is for member states to be informed of measures to strengthen its preparedness and to ensure business continuity at the UN premises and the Secretariat's operations.

Mainland China had 99 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections on Friday, the country's National Health Commission (NHC) said on Saturday.

The central province of Hubei, the epicenter of the outbreak, reported 28 new deaths.

More than 18,000 coronavirus cases outside China were reported as of Friday. South Korea, Italy, Japan, and Iran had more than 1,000 confirmed infection.