DOHA: Qatar’s Health Ministry reported the first case of the novel coronavirus in the country on Saturday.

A 36-year old Qatari citizen who returned recently from Iran tested positive for the virus, the ministry said in a statement cited by the official QNA news agency.

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

Known as COVID-19, the novel coronavirus has now spread to more than 45 countries worldwide, including the U.S., U.K., Singapore, France, Russia, Spain and India.

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

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

Some 500,000 Nepalis are employed in Qatar as foreign workers.

(With inputs from agencies)