FACTBOX-Latest on coronavirus spreading in China and beyond

A second European hotel was in lockdown on Wednesday as authorities around the world battled to prevent the spread of coronavirus, although a senior U.S. health official said a pandemic was inevitable and urged Americans to prepare.

* Mainland China had 406 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections on Tuesday, down from 508 cases a day earlier. * The death toll from the outbreak in mainland China had reached 2,715 as of Tuesday, up by 52 from the previous day. All the new deaths were in Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak, which also reported 401 new cases on Feb. 25, down from 499 a day earlier.

* Austria sealed off the Grand Hotel Europa in Innsbruck after an Italian receptionist tested positive for the virus. * A large Canary Islands hotel was locked down for coronavirus tests on Tuesday after a guest and his wife were found to be infected, as Spain also reported its first three cases of the disease on the mainland.

* A German from the southern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg tested positive for coronavirus after a trip to Milan and another man further north is in a critical condition. * Algeria has reported its first confirmed case of the virus, an Italian man who arrived in the country on Feb. 17 and has been put into isolation.

* Italy has become a frontline in the global outbreak of the virus, with 280 cases and 10 deaths. * Iran's coronavirus death toll rose to 16 on Tuesday, the most outside China. Iran's deputy health minister and a member of parliament were among those infected.

* The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said while the immediate risk in the United States was low, the current global situation suggested a pandemic was likely. * The effects of the coronavirus outbreak are likely to reverberate beyond China as most major economies in the region are expected to either slow down significantly, halt or shrink outright in the current quarter, Reuters polls found.

* South Korea reported 169 new cases on Wednesday, including a U.S. soldier, pushing the total tally to 1,146, with the numbers expected to rise as the government widens its testing. * Some 400 South Korean tourists were flown home from Israel on Tuesday on special chartered flights after more than two dozen Catholics on a trip to that country tested positive for the virus, prompting Israel to impose an entry ban.

* U.S. airlines and hotels are extending options for customers to rebook travel to a growing list of countries, including Italy. * El Salvador will bar the entry of foreign nationals arriving from Italy and South Korea.

* San Francisco declared a local emergency over the coronavirus on Tuesday, despite having no cases. * Singapore said on Tuesday it would ban all visitors who had recently traveled to the South Korean city of Daegu and Cheongdo County.

* Japan urged businesses on Tuesday to have staff work from home to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and its top-flight soccer division announced it was postponing matches. * Hong Kong unveiled measures worth HK$120 billion ($15 billion) in its annual budget on Wednesday to bolster an economy grappling with the virus and months of anti-government protests.

* The northwestern Chinese regions of Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang and the southwestern province of Sichuan have downgraded their emergency response level. * FDA identified 20 drugs with shortage risks due to coronavirus outbreak.

* Asian shares fell on Wednesday as fears of a pandemic drove another Wall Street tumble and pushed yields on safe-haven Treasuries to record lows. 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)