Schools shut, travel curbed as world races to fight coronavirus

Employees from a disinfection service company sanitize a shopping district in Seoul, South Korea. [Reuters]

Governments battling coronavirus epidemics from Iran to Australia shut schools, canceled big events and stocked up on medical supplies on Thursday in a race to contain the outbreak’s rapid global spread.

For the first time, new infections reported around the world surpassed those in mainland China, where the flu-like disease emerged two months ago from an illegal wildlife market but is on the decline after an aggressive containment campaign.