Members of a humanitarian aid agency disinfect Ibn Sina hospital as prevention against coronavirus in the city of Idlib, Syria, March 19, 2020. (Photo: AP)

The global confirmed cases of COVID-19 have reached 343,421, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University as of 6:30 pm on Monday (BJT).

Current status (data as of 7pm BJT, March 23):

The 127th session of the China Import and Export Fair, or the Canton Fair, previously scheduled between April 15 and May 5, will be postponed, given the high risk of imported COVID-19 cases.

The British government took over the railways on Monday in a bid to ensure services keep running for key workers during the coronavirus outbreak. The transport ministry said it was suspending normal franchise agreements with private operators, taking over "all revenue and cost risk" for at least six months.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that the country will shut down in response to the community transmission of COVID-19 in two days. Ardern announced the country would adopt the most severe response, level four of New Zealand's COVID-19 response system, in 48 hours.

US Senator Rand Paul (Kentucky) became the first member of the US Senate to be infected with the novel coronavirus. US President Donald Trump approved the major disaster declaration in California to bolster the most populous US state's COVID-19 emergency response efforts. 

An Iranian health official said on Monday the raw materials of a new anti-viral drug used in China will be imported in the coming days to be manufactured domestically.