The National Center for Disease Control announced late Tuesday the first confirmed case of novel coronavirus in Libya.

"The patient underwent the Coivd-19 tests and proved positive," the Health Minister said in a brief statement late Tuesday.

Speaking to a local TV channel last night, the head of the National Center for Disease Control, Badr Al-din Al-Najjar clarified that the individual was in his seventies and returned to Libya on the 5th of March coming from Saudi Arabia.

The Health Minister affirmed that the patient has been isolated and all measures are in place, calling on citizens to abide by the safety instructions given to them to keep safe through the crisis.