CAIRO, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Egypt detected 16 new cases of COVID-19, raising the confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the country to 126, the Egyptian Health Ministry said Sunday.
"The new 16 cases include eight Egyptians and eight foreigners of different nationalities," the ministry's spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement.
He noted that five more cases recovered and were discharged from the quarantine hospital on Sunday, increasing the number of cured cases to 26.
Egypt so far has confirmed two death cases of COVID-19.
"Once an infection is suspected, it will be announced immediately and with all transparency, based on the international health regulations and in coordination with the World Health Organization," said the spokesman.
Egypt has recently decided to shut down schools and universities and halt social gatherings, mass prayers and sports activities, over COVID-19 concerns.
The Egyptian president also allocated 100 billion Egyptian pounds (about 6.36 billion U.S. dollars) to face any possible repercussions of the virus.
