TEHRAN

Iran reported 123 additional fatalities due to the novel coronavirus on Sunday, taking the death toll in the country to 2, 640, the Health Ministry said on Sunday.

Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 2,901 new cases have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total infections to 38,309, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.

He said 12,391 patients infected with the virus have so far recovered and been discharged from hospitals.

According to the spokesman, 3,467 patients are in critical condition.

After first appearing in Wuhan, China, last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 177 countries and territories, according to data compiled by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

he data shows over 669,300 cases have been reported worldwide since last December, with the death toll above 30,900 and over 142,000 recoveries.