Sudan declares health emergency over coronavirus

ANKARA

Sudanese authorities on Monday declared a state of health emergency in the country in a bid to stem the spread of new coronavirus, the ruling sovereign council said.

On Friday, the Health Ministry reported the first coronavirus case who died later on the same day.

The ministry identified the case as a "50-year-old man who lived in the capital Khartoum, and died on Thursday.”

On Thursday, Sudan started closing its border with Egypt and barred entry of citizens from eight countries amid measures to contain the spread of the virus.

After emerging in Wuhan, China last December, the virus -- which causes the disease known as COVID-19 -- has spread to at least 146 countries and territories, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The global death toll is now nearly 6,500, with almost 165,000 confirmed cases, according to the WHO, which declared the outbreak a pandemic.