A group of 46 French and American tourists who had been aboard a River Nile cruise ship where 45 confirmed coronavirus cases had been detected left the country on Tuesday night after testing negative for the virus, Egypt's tourism ministry said on Wednesday.

Another 17 Indian tourists who were on board the same ship were due to leave early on Wednesday after negative test results.

Egypt has so far detected 59 coronavirus cases, 26 of whom later tested negative, according to the health ministry.

Egypt reported on Sunday its first fatality from the coronavirus, a German tourist who had traveled to the ancient city of Luxor.

The fast-spreading virus, which emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, has so far caused over 121 infections and 4,300 deaths.