By Mustafa Melih Ahishali
ANKARA (AA) - Iran on Sunday confirmed 51 more fatalities from the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide death toll to 6,988.
A further 1,806 people tested positive for COVID-19, raising the overall count to 120,198, Iran's state broadcaster reported, citing a Health Ministry statement.
The statement added that 94,464 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals so far, while 2,705 patients remained in critical condition.
In Iran, one of the hardest hit countries in the Middle East, COVID-19 was first detected in the city of Qom on Feb. 19 and then spread throughout the country.
Since the virus emerged in Wuhan, China last December, it has spread to 188 countries and regions.
The global death toll from the novel coronavirus has exceeded 312,000, with more than 4.65 million confirmed cases and recoveries have surpassed 1.69 million, according to a running tally by US-based Johns Hopkins University.
*Writing by Havva Kara Aydin