France is rushing to produce millions of face masks and thousands of ventilators as reliance on imports to fight the coronavirus has exposed the country's need for "independence" in producing vital medical equipment, President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday.

Strict containment measures might have already saved up to 59,000 lives across 11 European countries battling the spread of the new coronavirus, experts in Britain say. 

Italy marked a minute of silence and flew flags at half mast Tuesday to mourn the 11,591 people who have died from the coronavirus pandemic that has drastically altered life in the Mediterranean country.

The nation of 60 million people has recorded nearly a third of all fatalities caused by the disease around the world.

Iran on Tuesday said 141 more have died from the novel coronavirus, raising the official toll in one of the world's worst-affected countries to 2,898.

Middle-aged people, and not just the elderly, have a dramatically higher risk of dying or developing serious illness from COVID-19, new research from Britain showed Tuesday.

Russia on Tuesday expanded a lockdown to curb the coronavirus outbreak as parliament rushed to approve tough legislation for violating quarantine rules and spreading false information.

A 12-year-old girl confirmed infected with COVID-19 has died in Belgium, health officials said Tuesday.

European nations have delivered medical goods to Iran in the first transaction under the Instex mechanism set up to evade American sanctions on Tehran, the German foreign ministry said Tuesday.

Tightened lockdowns across the planet saw nearly half of humanity told to stay at home in a bid to stem the spiralling coronavirus pandemic, as Spain recorded its deadliest day Tuesday and the United States braced for the full impact of the disease. 

Reza Khandan got the word from friends jailed in Iran's most feared prison, Evin. A prisoner and a guard in their cell block had been removed because they were suspected of having coronavirus, and two guards in the women's ward had shown symptoms.

It was frightening news. Khandan's wife, Nasrin Sotoudeh, one of Iran's most prominent human rights lawyers, is imprisoned in that ward in close quarters with 40 other women. Only days earlier, the 56-year-old Sotoudeh — known for defending activists, opposition politicians and women prosecuted for removing their headscarves — held a five-day hunger strike demanding prisoners be released to protect them from the virus.