ANKARA

A total of 157 people in Iran have died of coronavirus over the last 24 hours, pushing the death toll up to 2,234, said Iranian health authorities on Thursday.

Health Ministry spokesperson Kianoush Jahanpour said 2,389 people were confirmed to have contracted the virus in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 29,406.

Also, 10,457 people have recovered from COVID-19, according to health officials.

After first appearing in Wuhan, China, last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 175 countries and territories, according to data compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

The data shows more than 474,000 cases have been reported worldwide since last December, with the death toll above 21,000 and over 115,000 successful recoveries.