Egyptian authorities have been distributing medical face masks to workers and passengers at Cairo metro stations at peak times and on busy train lines, as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, the company operating the metro said in a statement on Tuesday

Face masks are being handed out to passengers and staff members on the metro's three lines: at ticket offices, on platforms and on trains, the Egyptian Company for Metro Management and Operation said in a statement.

The metro company will continue the sterilisation of metro trains and stations during and after daily operation hours, the statement added.

Posters about the symptoms of the coronavirus and how to prevent infection have been put up at all stations, and the metro's internal radio station is broadcasting dos and don'ts for protection against the virus.

Sterilization procedures at a metro station (Photo: Egyptian Ministry of Transport)

Sterilization procedures at a metro station (Photo: Egyptian Ministry of Transport)

In a separate statement, the transport ministry said that the Egyptian National Railways Authority has been implementing precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the flue-like.

The authority has distributed more than 1,000 medical face masks to travelers at stations and on trains, especially to passengers on busy train lines.

Train carriages are being regularly sterilised, including door handles, seat rests and windows, as well as ticket offices, gates, benches, elevators, escalators and toilets.

The railway authority has also put up coronavirus awareness posters at stations and on trains.

Egypt has 59 confirmed coronavirus cases, 26 of which tested negative after an initial positive diagnosis.

Egypt reported Sunday its first and only coronavirus death — a German national who had traveled to the southern city of Luxor before dying at a hospital in Hurghada

Sterilization procedures at a train station (Photo: Egyptian Ministry of Transport)

Egyptian railways employees wearing face masks (Photo: Egyptian Ministry of Transport)