Egypt announced on Sunday the first death linked to the epidemic of the new coronavirus in Hourghada (southeast), the first on the African continent. He is a “60-year-old German national (…) admitted to Hourghada public hospital on March 6” and tested positive for the new coronavirus on March 7, said spokesman Khaled Megahed from the Ministry of Health in a press release.
Arrived in Egypt a week earlier, “he died on March 8,” said Megahed. Suffering from “acute pneumonia”, the German tourist “refused to be transferred to quarantine,” said the ministry.
Egypt has 48 infected people, including 45 infected on a cruise ship in Luxor, according to figures presented Saturday by local authorities.
The boat was carrying 101 foreign tourists and 70 Egyptians, according to Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli.
In recent weeks, three other infections with the new coronavirus had been recorded, the first of which – concerning a Chinese citizen – had been declared “cured”.
As the number of people infected has exceeded 105,000 and the virus has claimed nearly 3,600 lives worldwide, there are many rumors of new undeclared cases of Covid-19 in Egypt, including Le Cairo defends itself.
Germany itself has nearly a thousand cases on its territory but no deaths before the death of this tourist in Egypt.
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