COVID-19 death toll has climbed past 3,000 worldwide

The death toll from the COVID-19 coronavirus has climbed past 3,000 worldwide. The Victorian government has announced a 3.2 million-dollar donation to the Doherty Institute in Melbourne to help find a vaccine.

Medical staff attend to a patient infected by the coronavirus at a makeshift hospital at Wuhan. Source: COSTFOTO

The World Health Organisation chief says the deadly coronavirus outbreak is in what he calls "uncharted territory".

But he says it may yet be contained, as the number of new cases in China - where the illness began - is now less than in the rest of the world.

Almost nine times as many cases were reported in the past 24 hours outside of China, suggesting the spread is escalating globally.