The Tunisian government on Monday confirmed the country's first case of the coronavirus.

The Minister of Health, Abdelatif el-Maki, told a press conference that the patient was a Tunisian man.

Tunisia becomes the fifth country in Africa to confirm a case of the coronavirus after Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria and Senegal.

The announcement comes after Algeria confirmed two new cases of coronavirus infections, a woman and her daughter aged 53 and 24 years respectively.

Senegal also registered its first confirmed case of the coronavirus, a French citizen who has since been placed under observation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently raised its assessment of the risk of the disease spreading to "very high".