Israel closes land border with Egypt due to coronavirus

JERUSALEM (AA) - The border between Israel and Egypt was closed on Sunday due to the coronavirus outbreak.

According to the country's Public Broadcasting Corporation, Israel shut its land border with Egypt at 5.00 p.m. local time (1500GMT).

On Friday, Israel closed its borders with Syria and Lebanon amid rising fears of a coronavirus outbreak.

Egypt said the virus known as COVID-19 was detected in 33 people on a tourist ship in the country's south, including three Egyptian nationals.

The Israeli Health Ministry has so far confirmed 20 cases OF COVID-19 in the country, with Israeli airline company El Al reducing international flights.

Palestinian authorities, for their part, confirmed 19 coronavirus cases in the West Bank.

First detected in Wuhan, China in December, the virus, officially known as COVID-19, has spread to more than 80 countries.

The global death toll is nearly 3,500, and over 100,000 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

After declaring the outbreak an international health emergency in January, last month the WHO updated the global risk level to "very high."