Iran has confirmed its first two cases of coronavirus today, making it the 26th country outside of China to do so.
Officials have not given details about who the two people are or whether they were travellers from China.
Only one other country in the Middle East has been infected by the virus so far – the United Arab Emirates, which announced its ninth case on Sunday.
The new cases come as the global total today rose above 75,000 and 2,012 people have died.
A semi-official news agency in Iran quoted an official in the country's health ministry, Kiyanoush Jahanpour, as saying that 'since last two days, some suspected cases of the new coronavirus were found'.
Mr Jahanpour did not say how many people were suspected of having the virus, only revealing the number of confirmed cases.
He said the two confirmed cases were detected in the central province of Qom.
The virus, which causes an illness called COVID-19, has been spreading in China since the end of December last year and internationally since mid-January.
The coronavirus is known as SARS-CoV-2 and causes cold- and flu-like symptoms, including cough and fever, and in more severe cases, shortness of breath. It can worsen to pneumonia, which can be fatal.
It is believed to have originated in a wild animal sold at a Chinese market in order to be consumed as food, after first being transmitted by bats.
Iran has applied safety measures on arrival flights at its airports to control a possible spread of the virus.
Egypt's Health Ministry last week confirmed its first case of the virus in a patient who officials only identified as a foreigner who is carrying the virus but not showing any serious symptoms.
The ministry said the person was hospitalized and in isolation. It did not specify the person's nationality or what port of entry he or she arrived at in Egypt.
The case in Egypt was also the first on the African continent.
Experts and African leaders have expressed concern that should the virus spread there, it might wreak havoc among less developed countries with fewer health resources.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
