TEHRAN, Iran 

Iran on Thursday confirmed 148 more fatalities from the novel coronavirus, bringing the nationwide death toll to 11,106. 

A further 2,652 people tested positive for COVID-19, raising the overall count to 232,863, said Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari. 

She added that a total of 194,098 people have recovered and been discharged from hospitals so far, adding that 3,097 patients remain in critical condition. 

Over 1.71 million tests have been conducted in the country to date, Lari noted. 

There is also a serious increase in the number of patients in hospitals in all provinces, Lari added. 

Head of the center for combating coronavirus in Tehran, Ali Reza Zali, said that a total of 520 people were hospitalized in the capital Tehran in one day. 

Since originating in China last December, the pandemic has claimed over 516,500 lives in 188 countries and regions. 

More than 10.71 million cases have been reported worldwide, while over 5.59 million patients have recovered so far, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz