13:34

Egypt has declared its first coronavirus infection of an Egyptian national. The country’s Ministry of Health and Population said the 44-year-old display symptoms after returning from Serbia via 12-hour transit in France.

The man has now been quarantined, as Egyptian officials say they have stepped up efforts to limited then spread of the virus, including screenings at airports.

Egypt previously declared two foreign nationals had Covid-19. A Chinese national who tested positive in mid-February later recovered, while a 54-year old Canadian national was quarantined last Monday.

As recently as last weekend, the Egyptian prime minister and health ministry repeatedly said that Egypt was free of the virus, despite raising suspicions after multiple foreign nationals dreturned from trips to Egypt displaying symptoms.

“One trip to Egypt was the source of 11 cases out of 20 people,” in the French town of La Balme-de-Sillingy according to Le Monde.

The Egyptian health minister, Hala Zayed, travelled to China this week to discuss the outbreak. She told a press conference that Egypt had tested 1,443 people for the virus, with only one testing positive.