Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) said it is postponing an international economic forum aimed at luring investments to the zone amid growing concerns over the novel coronavirus epidemic, a statement by the SCZone said. SCZone said “despite its readiness to organise the event to present developments in the zone and its investment opportunities… the event, slated to be held 21-22 March, has been postponed.” It added that the postponement comes under preventive measures carried out by the state. COVID-19 has led to cancellations and postponements of major economic and sports events globally.

The outbreak of the China-originated virus has infected over 100,000 and killed over 3,500 globally, mainly in mainland China, since December. In the past weeks, Egypt has upped preventive measures at all entry points nationwide. It reported 12 new cases on Friday, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 15.