Hong Kong warns against travel to South Korea as virus spreads

The Hong Kong government warned residents on Monday to avoid all non-essential travel to South Korea, as the government in Seoul reported 231 new cases of the coronavirus, taking the country's total to more than 800.

Fears of a coronavirus pandemic grew on Monday after sharp rises in new cases reported in Iran, Italy and South Korea but China relaxed restrictions on movements in several places, including Beijing, as its rates of new infections eased.