Doha: Qatar's Health Ministry on Saturday reported the first case of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country. According to a ministry statement cited by the official QNA news agency, a 36-year old Qatari citizen who returned recently from Iran tested positive for the virus.

The ministry said that the infected person was among Qatari nationals evacuated on Thursday from Iran, where 43 deaths were reported from the virus, reported Anadolu agency.

COVID-19 has now spread to more than 45 countries, including the US, UK, Singapore, France, Russia, Spain and India.

China, where the virus originated, is the worst-hit country with 2,837 deaths reported so far.

The World Health Organisation, which has already declared the outbreak an international health emergency, on Friday raised the global coronavirus alert level from high to "very high".