Egypt's cabinet decided on Thursday to close sports clubs and youth centres from 7pm to 6am until 31 March to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The government has been taking a host of preventive measures in an effort to curb the spread of the virus, deciding last week to close schools and universities for two weeks, starting Sunday 15 March.

Football matches were suspended for two weeks as well.

Since its outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, coronavirus (COVID-19) has infected more than 221,000 people globally and killed 8,999.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Egypt has reached 210.

(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)