As coronavirus toll rises, nations begin to isolate citizens to stop spread

Several countries began isolating hundreds of citizens evacuated from the Chinese city of Wuhan in an effort to stop the global spread of an epidemic which has killed 170, with South Korea calling for calm in the face of protests at a quarantine centre.

Asian stocks and currencies fell on Thursday as fatalities rose and more cases were reported around the world.

China's National Health Commission said the total number of confirmed deaths from the coronavirus in the country climbed to 170 as of late Wednesday and the number of infected patients rose to 7,711.

Almost all the deaths so far have been