Saudi Arabia and Jordan reported their first cases of the COVID-19 on Monday as the virus continues to spread.

The virus has spread to more than 60 countries, including five in Africa.

Earlier, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health said that it had prepared 25 hospitals with 2,200 beds to deal with novel coronavirus cases that might be detected.

Iran has reported the biggest number of fatalities from the virus not just in the Middle East but worldwide, with 66 deaths, including its former ambassador to the Vatican. The country's vice president for women's and family affairs has also tested positive.

Other countries in the Middle East that have reported confirmed cases are: Iraq, Oman and Kuwait.

In Europe, Italy tops in COVID-19 cases with 1,694 confirmed cases and 41 deaths.

As of Monday, there were 80,174 confirmed cases in China and 2,915 deaths (including 2 in Hong Kong and 1 in Taiwan). 44,518 people had recovered.

Outside of China, there were over 8,700 confirmed cases and over 120 deaths.

The pneumonia outbreak was first reported in the city of Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, in December 2019.