The worldwide death toll from the coronavirus pandemic surged past 5,000 on Saturday, March 14, with the total number of cases rising to more than 140,000, as the infection continues to prompt countries to take unprecedented measures to help stave off a global health crisis, Al Jazeera reports.

Saudi Arabia said it would suspend international flights for two weeks in response to the outbreak while New Zealand announced a mandatory two-week quarantine for anyone entering the country, just hours after cancelling the one-year memorial service of the Christchurch mosque attacks.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump declared a national emergency over the pandemic, opening the door to providing what he said was about $50bn in federal aid to fight the disease.

The World Health Organization (WHO) meanwhile said Europe has now become the "epicentre" for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

The virus has also spread to several countries on the African continent, with Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Guinea, Mauritania and Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland) all confirming their first cases on Friday and Saturday.