Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has appointed Mohamed Tag El-Deen as his advisor for health affairs amid the spread of the coronavirus in the country.

The president met on Saturday with Tag El-Deen, who has held a number of notable positions in the health sector in Egypt.

Egypt has been implementing increasingly strict measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the country, which has infected at least 285 people, eight of whom have been killed by the virus.

The preventive measures have included suspending air traffic, reducing the number of public sector employees working at state institutions, and shutting schools, universities, mosques and churches.