CAIRO, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A 60-year-old German man died of COVID-19 infection on Sunday, becoming the first victim killed by the novel coronavirus in Egypt, Egyptian Health Ministry announced.

The man, who arrived in Egypt 7 days ago, passed away in a hospital in Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Hurghada, Khaled Mujahid, the ministry's spokesman, said in a statement.

The German citizen showed symptoms of high temperature when he arrived in Hurghada from Luxor governorate and went to the Hurghada General Hospital on Friday evening, the statement said.

The man, who tested positive for the COVID-19 on Saturday, refused to be transferred to the designated isolation hospital, it said.

Suffering from respiratory failure caused by acute pneumonia, the man's condition worsened and passed away on Sunday, it added.

After the man's death, the health ministry immediately took all necessary preventive measures and the hospital was sterilized in accordance with the guidelines of the World Health Organization.

On Saturday, Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed announced 33 new cases of COVID-19 infection on board a Nile cruise ship in Upper Egypt's Luxor city, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Egypt to 48.

The minister said that 45 of the 48 cases were discovered on the cruise ship.