ISTANBUL  

Former Libyan prime minister Mahmoud Jibril has died of the novel coronavirus, Egyptian media reports said Sunday.

Jibril (68) was referred to a hospital in the Egyptian capital Cairo on March 27 after testing positive for COVID-19.

He was named prime minister of the National Transitional Council, Libya's de facto government for a period during the civil uprising that ousted Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has spread to at least 183 countries and regions across the world, with its epicenter shifting to Europe.

The pandemic has killed 68,000 people, and infected over 1.2 million, while nearly 256,000 people recovered from the disease, according to figures collated by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas