Egypt's Minister of Education Tarek Shawki denied media reports that the ministry will put off the second school semester, scheduled to resume on 8 February, due to coronavirus outbreak.

"There is no change for the time being. We will inform everyone if there is any update, but we have to leave these decisions to the relevant authorities," Shawki posted on Facebook.

He requested the public not to participate in creating "a state of panic" across the country.

The fast-spreading virus first surfaced in December in the Chinese city of Wuhan, killing some 350 people in China so far and infecting more than 11,000, mostly in China.

Egypt has taken precautionary measures against the virus, including screening travellers arriving at its airports. 

The deadly epidemic, which has spread to 24 countries, has not been detected in Egypt or any country in the Middle East, with the exception of the United Arab Emirates, where six people have been diagnosed with the virus, according to the World Health Organisation.