The number of Covid-19 cases in South Korea has risen by 161 to 763, officials said.
Two more deaths from the strain of coronavirus have also been recorded, bringing the total in the country to seven.
More than 140 of South Korea’s new cases were in and near the city of Daegu, where most of the country’s infections have occurred so far.
The number of deaths in mainland China stands at 2,592, while 77,345 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the country.
While officials in South Korea have expressed hope they could contain the outbreak to the region surrounding Daegu, some experts noted signs of the virus circulating nationwide, including a number of cases in the capital Seoul.
Some of the disease clusters identified in recent days have shown no link to China, a worrying sign of the virus spreading beyond control.
The Iranian health ministry said there were now 43 confirmed cases in Iran, which did not report its first case of the virus until Wednesday.
In Italy’s northern Lombardy region, which includes the nation’s financial capital Milan, the governor announced the number of confirmed cases stood at 110.
Italy now has the latest number of cases outside Asia with 152 cases and three deaths with the most recent on Sunday.
Mr Xi defended the ruling Communist Party’s response as “timely and effective” in a video conference with officials in charge of anti-disease work, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
“The current epidemic situation is still grim and complex,” Xinhua quoted Mr Xi as saying.
“Prevention and control are at the most critical stage.”
It allows for the temporary closure of schools and reduced operation of public transportation and flights to and from South Korea.
The new school year in South Korea was postponed by one week until March 9.
Mr Moon said the outbreak “has reached a crucial watershed,” and that the next few days will be critical.
“We shouldn’t be bound by regulations and hesitate to take unprecedented, powerful measures,” he added
