ANKARA 

At least 117 more coronavirus-related fatalities have raised the death toll in Iran to 21,137, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.

Some 2,190 more people tested positive for COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, pushing the overall count up to 367,796, ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said.

She added that 316,638 patients have recovered so far, while 3,822 are hospitalized in critical condition.

Iran is struggling to contain the pandemic since February when the first cases were confirmed in the city of Qom.

Since originating in China last December, COVID-19 has claimed over 826,300 lives in 188 countries and regions.

More than 24.2 million cases have been reported worldwide, while over 15.82 million patients have recovered, according to figures compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz from Ankara