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Italian authorities said the death toll due to COVID-19 coronavirus had risen to 34. 

There have been a total of 1,694 cases of the virus to date since the beginning of the crisis in Italy, Euronews reported, citing Italian news agency ANSA.

The country is the most affected in Europe and the recent spike in cases prompted travel restrictions against regions in the north, as the country is linked to several new international cases.

Two airlines, Delta and American, stopped direct flights from New York to Milan after the US government raised travel advisories for the region.

There are eleven towns locked down to prevent further spread of the virus, and Italy has announced extra funding for the regions affected.

Elsewhere in Europe, countries are preparing for the worst:

France announced on Saturday strict prevention measures that include banning public gatherings of more than 5,000 people. Staff at Paris' iconic Louvre Museum forced it to close on Sunday over fears of the virus outbreak.

Paris' half marathon was cancelled as a result of the new measures after the number of cases in the country rose to 130 on Saturday following outbreaks in the department of l'Oise and in la Balme-de-Silligny in Haute Savoie.

The Geneva Motor Show was cancelled after the Swiss government banned all public and private events involving more than 1,000 people in order to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

In other COVID-19 updates:

• France confirms 130 cases of coronavirus, Germany reported at least 117 cases
• Spain has 76 cases of coronavirus, public media reported
• Coronavirus has now spread to more than 60 countries
• The family of jailed British woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe suspects she has coronavirus in Iran
• The UK confirmed 12 new cases of the virus in the country, bringing total to 35
• The US state of Rhode Island confirmed a case of the virus in a man who travelled to Italy, France and Spain
• The US is banning any foreign national who has travelled to Iran in the last 14 days
• Iran's health ministry said the death toll from the virus was now 54 from 978 infections
• Wall Street had its worst week since October 2008 due to coronavirus fears

South Korea reported hundreds of new coronavirus infections as cases beyond China continued to grow at a faster rate.

Seoul says it has 3,736 people with COVID-19, with nearly a third of them emerging in the last couple of days.