As China increasingly appears to have turned a corner in its efforts to contain the COVID-19 coronavirus, concern is growing over its spread elsewhere around the world. On Friday, six countries reported their first cases of infections, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise its assessment of the risk of the disease spreading to "very high."

Attention has been turning towards Italy in particular, where the biggest flare-up of the coronavirus has occurred outside Asia. Of the six new countries that reported first-time cases on Friday, five of the people who had contracted the virus – in Estonia, Lithuania, Denmark, the Netherlands and Nigeria – had traveled to Italy, according to the WHO.

Among the few positives to take away from the latest developments, the WHO's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Gebreysus, said most new cases could be traced to known contacts or clusters, and that the organization didn't believe the virus was spreading freely in communities.

Near the body's headquarters in Geneva, workers began the day dismantling stands at an international motor show, which was due to start next Tuesday. Switzerland's government has categorized the situation as "special" under the country's Epidemic Act, giving it powers to take emergency measures to contain the outbreak. That includes banning gatherings of more than 1,000 people. It hardly came as a surprise to participants of the motor show, particularly given the proximity to Italy's worst-hit region of Lombardy in the country's north. 

In a statement, German car manufacturer Mercedes Benz said: "We see this as a sensible precautionary measure, which we support. The health of everyone involved is of course our top priority."

Italy recorded four more deaths as a result of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing its total to 21. The number of people who tested positive for the illnesses increased to 821, from 650 the day before. 

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said tackling the spread of the coronavirus was his government's top priority. The UK recorded its first death on Friday – a British man who had been on board the quarantined Princess Diamond cruise ship in Yokohama, Japan. 

Although there have been reports claiming the man, whose identity hasn't yet been released, didn't ordinarily reside in the UK. 

Nineteen people in the UK have been diagnosed with the disease.