A woman in Syria today died after being infected with nCoV, becoming the first death from Covid-19 in this Middle Eastern country.

"The woman died shortly after being hospitalized," the Syrian Ministry of Health said in a statement. "Testing shows that patients are infected with nCoV".

Concerns were raised about nCoV being able to spread rapidly in this war-torn country. In addition to the first death mentioned above, Syria on March 29 also recorded an additional 4 cases of nCoV, bringing the total number of cases nationwide to 9.

To slow the spread of the virus, the Syrian government issued a ban on movement between provinces until April 16, while limiting movement within each province until further notice. Schools were closed until mid-next month and the government imposed a curfew from 6pm to 6pm daily.

Covid-19 appears in nearly 200 countries and territories around the world, leaving more than 700,000 people infected and more than 33,000 dead.