Iran reported 141 additional fatalities due to the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, pushing the death toll in the country to 2,898, a health official said Tuesday.
Iran’s state TV reported Kianoush Jahanpour, a spokesman for the Health Ministry, as saying that 3,111 more people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total infections to 44,606.
He said 14,656 patients infected with the virus have so far recovered and been discharged from hospitals.
According to the spokesman, 3,703 patients are in critical condition.
The number of people who have undergone health screening as part of a national campaign against the virus launched on March 5 now tops 65 million, out of a total population of some 81 million, he stressed.
After first appearing in Wuhan, China, last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 178 countries and regions, according to data compiled by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.
The data shows more than 788,000 cases have been reported worldwide so far, with the death toll nearing 38,000 and nearly 167,000 recoveries.
*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz
