the People's Republic in 1949.

"This is a crisis for us and it is a big test," he said during remarks carried by state television.

In a rare admission, at a meeting to coordinate the fight against the virus, Xi added that China must learn from "obvious shortcomings exposed" during its response.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has praised Beijing for its handling of the epidemic, but China has been criticized at home for silencing early warnings from a whistleblower doctor who later died from the virus.

South Korea said it was raising its alert to the highest level, after the number of infections nearly tripled over the weekend to 602.

The country now has the most infections outside of China, apart from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan.

South Korea reportedthree deaths on Sunday, taking the countrywide fatality toll to five. The Yonhap news agency later reported a sixth death.

Around half of the country's cases have been linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus sect in the southern city of Daegu, where thousands of members have been quarantined or asked to stay at home.

POLICE CHECKPOINTS

Italy's cases spiked to 152 on Sunday, including three deaths.

Virus panic crept onto catwalks, leading to the cancellation of some runway shows at Milan Fashion Week. Others were held behind closed doors and livestreamed.

Most cases are confined to the small northern town of Codogno, about 70 kilometres southeast of Milan.

More than 50,000 people in about a dozen northern Italian towns have been told to stay home, and police set up checkpoints to enforce a