Coronavirus: Egypt reports first death from virus, Iran toll jumps by nearly 50
- Egypt’s first fatality was a 60-year-old German man who was suffering from respiratory failure caused by an acute pneumonia
- In Iran, 49 new fatalities were registered on Sunday, taking the death toll there to 194
Egypt registered its first death from the coronavirus on Sunday, the same day that Iran announced 49 new virus fatalities and Middle Eastern countries imposed travel restrictions to slow the spread of the virus in the region.
Egyptian Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said the country's first fatality was a 60-year-old German man who had a high temperature when he arrived in Hurghada on Friday from the city of Luxor.
The man went to a hospital in Hurghada that evening and tested positive for the coronavirus. He was placed in intensive care, as he was suffering from respiratory failure caused by an acute pneumonia, the spokesman said. The man refused to be moved to another hospital for quarantine; his condition deteriorated, and he died on Sunday.
Egypt has 48 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 45 infected passengers on a Nile cruise ship in southern Egypt.
In Iran, 49 new fatalities were registered, taking the death toll there to 194 as the virus continued to spread throughout the Middle East.