ISTANBUL 

Iran reported 121 more deaths from the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, pushing the death toll to 4003, a health official said.

Kianoush Jahanpour, a spokesman for the Health Ministry, said that 1,997 more people tested positive for COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the total infections to 64,586, Iran's state TV reported.

Jahanpour said 29,812 people have so far recovered and been discharged from hospitals, while 3,946 coronavirus patients are in critical condition.

Since the virus emerged last December in the Chinese city of Wuhan, it has spread to at least 184 countries and regions.

There are more than 1.44 million confirmed cases worldwide, with almost 83,000 deaths, and nearly 308,000 recoveries, according to the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat