Mongolia had already sealed its border with neighbouring China and banned flights from South Korea in an effort to keep the deadly virus out of the landlocked country of three million people.

"The capital Ulaanbaatar and all province centres are quarantined until Mar 16 to curb the outbreak," Deputy Prime Minister Enkhtuvshin Ulziisaikhan said at a press conference.

The move means people are not allowed to enter or leave the capital or rural cities for almost a week, he said.

Mongolia is the latest country to enact tough measures to contain the epidemic.

China has locked down some 56 million people at the epicentre of the crisis in Hubei province and told millions more to stay home across the country. Italy has imposed restrictions on the entire country.

More than 4,000 people have died and over 110,000 have been infected worldwide, with China accounting for most cases, though infections are now growing at a faster pace abroad.

In Mongolia's first case, the French national arrived on Mar 2 on a flight from Moscow, said Health Minister Davaajantsangiin Sarangerel.

The man, who works for a subsidiary of French nuclear firm Orano, was supposed to have remained in quarantine in his hotel for 14 days but ignored the rule, the minister said.

He also visited a uranium mining project in Dornogobi province.

Orano has a subsidiary in Mongolia called Badrakh Energy, which mines for uranium in the vast country.

"The patient is a French national aged 57, who arrived in the capital city of Ulan Bator on March 2," Ulziisaikhan Enkhtuvshin, head of the commission, said at a press conference.

"Initially, the man was screened and not tested positive for COVID-19. But, he began to develop a fever on Saturday," said Enkhtuvshin. "He was then tested for COVID-19 and preliminary tests were deemed to be positive."

The patient is now in the country's southeastern Dornogovi Province, he added, urging the public to be vigilant and follow hygiene rules. Enditem

L.Munkhtushig, Director General of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today informed that all foreign nationals travelling from China, Japan, South Korea, Italy and Iran, or foreign travelers who had visited these high-risk countries within the last two weeks are not allowed to enter Mongolia.

“Mongolian nationals returning from these countries will be placed in quarantine for 14 days at their own expense.” said Mr. Munkhtushig.

He also reminded that Mongolian nationals currently living in foreign countries with suspended direct flights to Mongolia are still able to return to Mongolia through Moscow or Berlin.

About 120 Mongolian nationals living in South Korea have submitted their requests to return home to the Mongolian Embassy in Seoul. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will present their requests to the State Emergency Commission, said Director General Munkhtushig.

Maintaining its efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the SEC will not allow the entry of foreign nationals, who have traveled to countries with Covid-19 outbreak in the last two weeks, to the territory of Mongolia, and take relevant measures as well as it called all the people of Mongolia not to travel abroad.

The Air Koryo flight to Vladivostok is the first commercial flight to leave North Korea in over a month, said specialist news site NK News.

Flight KOR271 landed in the far-eastern Russian city on Monday morning.

The embassy staff who left had been confined to their compounds for weeks during February and early March.

North Korea quarantined hundreds of foreigners in the capital in an attempt to stop the coronavirus from breaking out.

Russian ambassador Alexander Matsegora described the conditions as "morally crushing".

There have been no reported cases of coronavirus in North Korea, though some experts have cast doubt on this.

North Korea borders China, where the virus emerged, and South Korea, where there has been a major outbreak.

Flight KOR271 left Pyongyang at 08:40 local time on Monday (23:40 on Sunday) and arrived in Vladivostok at 10:47, said flight tracking site FlightAware.

At least 60 diplomats and embassy staff were thought to be on the flight. It's not known how or when they will return to their home countries.

The British ambassador to North Korea tweeted early on Monday that he was "sad to say farewell to colleagues from [the] Germany Embassy and French Office".

Colin Crooks added that other embassies were closing temporarily but that the British embassy would remain open.

He also tweeted pictures showing two white minivans taking staff to the airport.

North Korea had previously quarantined around 380 foreigners - mostly diplomats and staff in Pyongyang - in their compounds for at least 30 days.

It lifted the restrictions last week after more than a month.

Swedish ambassador Joachim Bergstrom reacting by tweeting a selfie with the caption: "I have never been happier standing on Kim ll Sung Square."

However, foreigners' interactions with locals were still restricted, said NK News, as they were not allowed to visit restaurants, shops, gyms and hotels in the city.

There are concerns that North Korea, which is subject to international sanctions, lacks the health infrastructure to test and treat those infected.

The number of infections worldwide is more than 107,000, with about 3,600 deaths.

The bill includes some regulations aimed to develop visa regulations of Mongolia by making it possible to acquire Mongolian visa online and on the border. Other regulations on matters such as extending the visa, withdrawing certain visa types, and opening a visa center are also includedin the bill in order to bring it to international standards.

The Hu not only wrote the original tune specifically for the game, but they also penned its lyrics in a fictional Star Wars language, created with the guidance of Lucasfilm and Respawn.

The Hu left the country on 27 February for performing concerts in Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Australia, New-Zealand, Argentina, Brazil and Chili.

Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia slashed its oil prices at the weekend after it failed to convince Russia on Friday to back sharp production cuts.

Oil cartel Opec and its ally Russia had previously worked together on production curbs.

The benchmark Brent oil futures plunged to a low of $35.84 a barrel on Monday, in volatile energy markets.

Oil prices have now fallen 30% since Friday, when Opec's 14 members led by Saudi Arabia met with its allies Russia and other non-Opec members.

They met to discuss how to respond to falling demand caused by the growing spread of the coronavirus.

But the two sides failed to agree on measures to cut production by as much as 1.5 million barrels a day.

That initially saw Brent drop below $50 a barrel on Friday with the downward trend carrying over to Asia on Monday. The region is home to some major importers including China, Japan, South Korea and India.

With global oil production now far outpacing demand, oil analyst Martjin Rats of Morgan Stanley said Opec members are now expected to pump more oil to capture market share.

"Given Opec countries now have very little incentive to restrain production, oil markets look sharply oversupplied," Mr Rats said in a research note.

Overall, oil prices were last at these levels in January 2016, and are near a 16-year low.

Energy analyst Vandana Hari, of research firm Vanda Insights, said the markets were shocked by the disagreement on production cuts between Opec and Russia, which was surpassed last year by the US as the world's top producer.

"The collapse of the Opec/non-Opec alliance is a major shock to the oil market, and it comes with the added challenge that we don't have the full picture of what lies ahead," Ms Hari told the BBC.