TEHRAN

The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak, officially known as COVID-19, in Iran rose to 12 with 47 confirmed cases, the country's state television announced Monday.

Iran's Health Minister Saeed Namaki submitted a report on the outbreak to the parliament.

Turkey on Sunday temporarily closed its border with Iran and halted flights from Iran to prevent the spread of the virus.

In China, the epicenter of the virus, the death toll from the outbreak has reached 2,594, with over 77,000 confirmed cases.

Following the global spread of the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak an international health emergency.

* Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev from Ankara