Number of coronavirus cases in Egypt rises to 55

ISTANBUL

Health officials in Egypt announced Sunday that the number of novel coronavirus cases in the country has risen to 55.

Speaking on television, a health ministry spokesperson said seven new cases had been detected.

Egyptian authorities said Saturday that 33 passengers onboard a River Nile cruise ship were found to be infected by the virus.

The Ministry of Health said earlier that a German citizen who came to the country a week ago had died from the coronavirus, marking the country’s first death from the outbreak.

First detected in Wuhan city in central China in December, the virus, officially known as COVID-19, has spread to more than 80 countries.

The global death toll is around 3,500 with more than 100,000 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

As part of efforts to contain the outbreak, governments have closed borders and suspended land and air travel with the worst-hit countries including China, Iran and Italy.

After declaring the outbreak an international health emergency in January, the WHO last month updated the global risk level to "very high."