Iran reports 198 more fatalities from coronavirus

By Muhammet Kursun

TEHRAN (AA) – Iran on Thursday confirmed 198 more fatalities from the novel coronavirus, bringing the nationwide death toll to 13,608.

A further 2,500 people tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, raising the overall count to 267,061, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said.

She added that a total of 230,608 people have so far recovered and been discharged from hospitals, adding that 3,471 patients remain in critical condition.

Khuzestan, Razavi Khorasan, East and West Azerbaijan, Mazandaran, Golestan, Bushehr, and Hormozgan are the provinces in the red zone with high risk of coronavirus. The capital Tehran, Fars, Kerman, Alborz, Kohgiluyeh, and Boyer-Ahmad provinces are among the high-risk regions.

Since originating in China last December, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed some 584,700 lives in 188 countries and regions.

Over 13.57 million cases have been reported worldwide, while over 7.57 million patients have recovered so far, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.

* Writing by Zehra Nur Duz