In the United States, New Jersey and St. Louis were added to a growing list of areas where residents were ordered to stay home.

New York state officials have identified about 2 million medical-grade masks and 6,000 ventilators to combat the patient surge. It is still trying to find another 18,000 of the devices, the USA Today said.

Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York state, which has more than 10,000 confirmed cases, said, "We are literally scouring the globe looking for medical supplies."

The contagion is starting to be felt in US cities far from major metropolitan areas, including places that have resisted drastic shutdown measures. Deaths have been reported in more than 30 US states, AP said.

At least 13 states have postponed voting and more delays are possible as health officials warn that social distancing and other measures to contain the virus might be in place for weeks, if not months, according to AP.

Primaries scheduled for Georgia, Ohio, Maryland, Indiana, Louisiana, Connecticut and Kentucky have all been postponed to May or June.