Washington pledges $1 billion for coronavirus vaccine as pandemic risks grow

US President Donald Trump will seek $2.5 billion from Congress to fight the coronavirus epidemic and US and South Korean militaries are considering scaling back joint training as the virus spreads in Europe and the Middle East.

Countries around the world are stepping up efforts to prevent a pandemic of the flu-like virus that originated from China late last year and has now infected more than 80,000 people, 10 times more cases than the SARS coronavirus.

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The White House said more than $1 billion of the requested virus budget would go toward developing a vaccine, while other funds would be used for therapeutics and the stockpiling of personal protective equipment such as masks.

The US and South Korean militaries said on Monday they may cut back joint training due to mounting concerns about the spreading coronavirus, in one of the first concrete signs of the virus's fallout on global US military activities.

The disclosure came during a visit to the Pentagon by South Korean Defence Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, who acknowledged following talks with US Defense Secretary Mark Esper that 13 South Korean troops had tested positive for the virus.

"We do regard this situation as a serious one," Jeong told a news conference, adding he had suspended military vacations and off-base leave.

"We have also limited their movement across the nation."

Earlier on Monday, the US military said a 61-year-old woman in South Korea who tested positive for the virus had recently visited a U.S. military base in the southeastern city of Daegu.

The woman, who was the widow of a former USservice member, visited a store at Camp Walker on February12 and 15, the military said. It was the first infection connected to USForces Korea, which counts about 28,500 American troops on the peninsula.

USForces Korea said it was raising the risk level to "high" across the country. It urged U.S. troops to limit travel and "use extreme caution when traveling off-installation."

South Korea - which remains technically at war with the nuclear-armed North - has the most virus cases in Asia outside China and reported 60 new cases on Tuesday, increasing the total number of infected patients in the country to 893.

Of the new cases, 16 were in the southeastern city of Daegu, where a church at the centre of the outbreak is located, and 33 were from North Gyeongsang Province, health officials said.

Americans should avoid all nonessential travel to South Korea due to the coronavirus outbreak, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday.

Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said it was too early to talk about cancelling the Tokyo Summer Olympics, which start on July 24, due to the coronavirus. Japan has 850 cases, most from a cruise ship, and has recorded four deaths.

Questions have risen about whether the Olympics should be moved or cancelled, with one London mayoral candidate saying London was ready to host the games if needed.