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IRAN-COVID-19
Iran reports 2,596 news COVID-19 cases, 197,647 in total
TEHRAN, June 18, 2020 (BSS/XINHUA) – Iran on Thursday reported 2,596 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 197,647, the state TV reported.
Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for Iran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said during the daily update that 87 people died overnight, taking the total fatalities over the virus to 9,272.
So far, 156,991 patients have recovered and 2,795 remain in critical condition, said Lari.
The spokeswoman added that 1,344,599 lab tests for COVID-19 have been carried out in Iran as of Thursday.
Iran announced its first cases of COVID-19 on Feb. 19.
Iran and China have offered mutual help in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.
In mid-February, at the early stage of the coronavirus outbreak in China, Iran lit up the Tehran Azadi (Liberty) Tower to show its solidarity with China, and donated 3 million masks to China.
In return, China has delivered several shipments of medical supplies to Iran. On Feb. 29, a five-member Chinese medical team visited Iran for a month-long mission to help Iran fight the pandemic.
BSS/XINHUA/FI 1633 hrs