THE global battle to contain the coronavirus has reached a new level of urgency as governments locked down borders, millions of workers, students and worshippers were ordered to stay home, and pleas went out to send masks and ventilators to places struggling with soaring caseloads.

The shifting fronts in the battle were made clear by figures showing that cases outside China – where the virus originated – surpassed those inside its borders for the first time.

On Wall Street, financial markets plunged, surpassing drops in Asia and Europe, as worried investors struggled to estimate the outbreak’s rippling economic fallout.

Spain officially became the fourth-most infected country in the world, passing South Korea as its arc of contagion curved higher.

Only China, Italy and Iran have more confirmed cases of Covid-19 than Spain, where the number of infections increased overnight by roughly 20%, to 9191, and the number of fatalities rose to 309, according to the Health Ministry.

The actual figure is presumed to be higher because Spain has switched to a new system of reporting.

Countries including Canada, Switzerland, Germany and Spain announced sharp new restrictions on the movement of people across their borders.

READ MORE: WATCH: FM: Coronavirus measures will 'change life as we know it'

Germany’s government reversed its earlier insistence that border controls would not work, imposing new limits on crossings with France, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark and Luxembourg, after cases of the virus increased by more than 1000 over 24 hours.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen suggested a 30-day ban on people entering the bloc for non-essential travel reasons in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.

“The less travel, the more we can contain the virus,” she said in a video message.

She said people with long-term EU residency or who are family members of European citizens, plus diplomats, doctors and health care workers could be exempted from the ban. Transport workers could also be exempt to help keep goods flowing.

All countries must “test, test, test” people for Covid-19, the head of the World Health Organisation said.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged widespread testing to keep track of the pandemic, saying the WHO has shipped almost 1.5 millions tests to 120 countries.

Among the most drastic measures, the Swiss city of Geneva banned gatherings of more than five people, though exceptions were made for business meetings that followed public health rules.

Switzerland’s government declared a state of emergency, ordering shops, restaurants, bars and other facilities to be shut down. The measures exclude health-care operations as well as supermarkets, but include entertainment and leisure facilities, which will be closed until April 19.

In Asia, where the virus has been a brutal fact of life for months, authorities urged vigilance to keep hard-won gains against the microscopic foe that has shut down travel, severely rattled financial markets, upended daily life and was threatening the livelihoods of millions.

READ MORE: WATCH: Scottish health official makes Piers Morgan look very stupid

In the US, health officials recommended a limit to groups of 50 or more people and a government expert said a 14-day national shutdown may be needed. Americans returning from abroad encountered chaotic airport health screenings that clearly broke all virus-fighting rules against having packed crowds close together.

Worldwide, more than 179,000 people have been infected and more than 7000 have died. More than 78,000 have recovered, mostly in China.

China, where the virus was first detected in December, now accounts for less than half of the world’s cases, according to Johns Hopkins University. yesterday, China relaxed travel restrictions in the hardest-hit virus province of Hubei, sending thousands of workers back to jobs at factories desperate to get production going again.

The move came as Chinese officials said the outbreak had mostly run its course domestically but they remained vigilant against imported cases. Starting yesterday, travellers arriving in Beijing from overseas will be quarantined for 14 days in designated facilities at their own expense.