Muslim worshippers circumambulate the sacred Kaaba in Mecca's Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site, on March 13, 2020. (AFP)
Twenty-five more Egyptians in Saudi Arabia have tested positive for the new coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the total number of Egyptians diagnosed with the virus in the kingdom to 48, The saudi health ministry saidon Twitter on Friday.
This means Egyptians now make up more than half of the total confirmed cases of the fast-spreading virus in Saudi Arabia - now 86.
The Egyptian patients were in close contact with an Egyptian visitor previously reported to have the coronavirus, the ministry said, adding that they are being isolated in quarantine in Mecca.
Earlier this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the worldwide outbreak of the new coronavirus to be a pandemic.
Saudi Arabia’s health ministry has advised those who had arrived from Egypt, South Korea and Lebanon and those who had had close contact with an infected person to remain at home in isolation even if they showed no symptoms.
Travel between Egypt and the Gulf kingdom has been suspended, with only limited flights operated between the two countries to bring their nationals back home.
Egypt now has 80 confirmed coronavirus cases, two of whom have died, an Egyptian woman and a German tourist. Of the total number, twenty people have since recovered, the health ministry said on Thursday.
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