More Coronavirus Cases in Arab World as Jordan, Tunisia Announce 1st Patients

Egypt’s health ministry announced on Sunday that one foreigner was tested positive for the new coronavirus strain inside Egypt, the ministry said in a statement on its Facebook page.

The person, whose nationality was not announced, was taken to an isolation hospital and is currently receiving the necessary medical care, it said.

It also added that it is currently taking strict preventive measures regarding those who were in contact with the person.

It is the second case of new coronavirus detected in Egypt. The first person has recovered, the statement said.

The health minister on Sunday said 1,443 people had been tested so far for the coronavirus.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has ordered stricter health control measures at the country's ports in an attempt to combat the coronavirus.

He met with the prime minister and the minister of health to follow up on the updates of the outbreak and the government's contingency plan on a national level.

Sisi said the level of readiness should be increased in cooperation with all the concerned parties of the state.

He also called for launching awareness campaigns to guide Egyptians and provide them with the necessary information.

Speaking at a televised press conference ahead of a visit to China, Minister of Health Hala Zayed also said that Egypt has requested the details of coronavirus in two patients in France said to have returned with the illness from Egypt and has sent a medical team to investigate the places they had visited.

Zayed headed to the Chinese capital Beijing to convey solidarity with China in combating the novel coronavirus.

"The Egyptian political leadership is keen on maintaining solidarity with China and the Chinese people during such critical conditions," said the minister during a joint press conference with Chinese Ambassador to Cairo Liao Liqiang ahead of departure.

For his part, the ambassador expressed appreciation to the minister and the country's leadership for standing by China at such a critical time.

New cases in Iraq, Algeria

Iraq detected two new coronavirus patients, both of whom had recently visited Iran, the Health Ministry said on Monday, bringing the total cases recorded so far to 21.

The two new cases were detected in Baghdad and had recently returned from Iran, the ministry said in a statement.

The first case was detected on Tuesday and was of an Iranian student who has since been sent back home. The other 20 are all Iraqis who had recently been in Iran.

Algeria, meanwhile, confirmed two new cases of coronavirus infections, a woman and her daughter aged 53 and 24 years respectively, the health ministry said on Monday.

The cases brought to three the number of people infected with the virus in the North African country.

The two people were put in isolation in Blida province south of the capital Algiers, the ministry said in a statement.

The woman and her daughter in February hosted an 83-year-old man and his daughter based in France who were tested positive for coronavirus after their return to France, the statement said.

Algeria last week announced its first coronavirus case, an Italian national who arrived in the country on Feb.17. He was later flown home to Italy, which has almost 1,700 cases.

First cases in Tunisia, Jordan

Neighboring Tunisia confirmed on Monday its first case of the coronavirus, the health minister said at a news conference.

The minister Abdelatif el-Maki said the patient was a Tunisian man.

Jordan said on Monday a man who had flown in from Italy had tested positive for the new coronavirus, the first case confirmed in the country, state news agency Petra reported.

The Jordanian citizen had flown back nearly two weeks ago on a plane with around 100 passengers, health minister Saad Jaber told a news conference.

The man was quarantined at his home with strict controls on his movement and was in "stable" condition, Jaber said.

Another Jordanian was under close observation, the minister added.

Italy, the European country worst affected by the outbreak so far, has recorded 34 deaths and 1,694 cases.

Last week, Jordan's state carrier Royal Jordanian suspended flights between Amman and Rome until further notice and reduced flights to major Asian destinations.