Egypt has registered 17 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total of number of cases detected in the country to 110, the health ministry said in a statement.
The new cases reported are 14 Egyptians and three foreigners, the ministry said. Two of the Egyptians had returned from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, while the rest had come into contact with previously diagnosed carriers.
Out of the 110 cases, 21 have recovered and were released from a quarantine hospital, and 33 tested negative for the virus in two separate PCR tests performed over 48 hours, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
Egypt has recorded two deaths from the coronavirus, a German tourist and a 60-year-old Egyptian woman.
With the rise in the number of cases, Egypt said on Saturday that it is closing schools and universities for two weeks to prevent the spread of the virus. The presidency said that the move aims to "deal with any possible repercussions" from the virus.
Since it emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, coronavirus (COVID-19) has infected more than 157,000 people globally and killed more than 5,800.
