BEIJING, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The world is now in a battle against COVID-19, a disease caused by a previously unknown coronavirus that has spread to over 180 countries and regions.

The following are the updates on the contagious illness.

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LONDON -- Charles, the Prince of Wales, has tested positive for COVID-19 and is showing mild symptoms, reported BBC on Wednesday.

The 71-year-old displayed mild symptoms "but otherwise remains in good health," a spokesman of Clarence House said.

His wife Camilla has tested negative.

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MANILA -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has declared a state of national emergency in the entire Philippines as the number of COVID-19 cases in the country jumped to 636, according to a new law released on Wednesday. The law, which Duterte signed on Tuesday night, empowers the president to tap all available state resources to halt the spread of COVID-19.

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MOSCOW -- Russia has registered 163 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the sharpest daily increase so far, raising the total number to 658, official data showed Wednesday.

The new cases were confirmed in 20 regions, including 120 in Moscow, Russia's Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being said in a statement.

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TOKYO -- Japan's health ministry and local governments said Wednesday that 41 new COVID-19 infections were confirmed in Tokyo, while 66 new cases were confirmed by 12 other local authorities, bringing the total number of people infected in Japan to 1,277 as of 8:00 p.m. local time here.

The death toll in Japan from the pneumonia-causing virus currently stands at a total of 54 people, according to the health ministry, with the figure including those from the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama, close to Tokyo.

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TEHRAN -- Iran's health ministry on Wednesday reported a jump in fatalities from the novel coronavirus as another 143 people died over the past 24 hours, raising the country's overall death toll to 2,077, official IRNA news agency reported.

Kianush Jahanpur, head of Public Relations and Information Center of Ministry of Health and Medical Education, confirmed a total of 27,017 infection cases in the country since the officials first acknowledged the virus detection in the central city of Qom on Feb. 19.

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RIYADH -- Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ordered on Wednesday a complete closure of three cities to curb COVID-19 spread, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The cities are Riyadh, Mecca and Medina, and no one can leave or enter them.

The orders would take effect from Thursday, and the curfew will start from 3 p.m. local time instead of 7 p.m. in the three cities.

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ADDIS ABABA -- The death toll from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the African continent has reached 64 as confirmed positives cases surpassed 2,412 as of Wednesday, the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) revealed on Wednesday.

The Africa CDC, specialized agency of the 55-member African Union (AU), in its latest situation update issued on Wednesday revealed 14 African countries have so far reported 64 deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Enditem

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