UPDATES WITH CASES, RECOVERED NUMBERS
By Ahmet Dursun
ANKARA (AA) - A total of 143 people in Iran have died of coronavirus over the last 24 hours, pushing the death toll up to 2,077, said Iranian health authorities on Wednesday.
At least 2,206 people were confirmed to be infected with the virus in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 27,017.
Also, 9,625 people have recovered from COVID-19, according to health officials.
Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said in a televised statement that President Hassan Rouhani took new measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, including an international and intercity travel ban.
After emerging in Wuhan, China last December, coronavirus has spread to at least 170 countries and territories.
The World Health Organization has declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.
The number of confirmed cases worldwide has now surpassed 428,000 while the death toll exceeded 19,000 and almost 110,000 have recovered, according to data compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.
Italy, China, Iran, and Spain continue to be the most affected countries.
Despite the rising number of cases, most who contract the virus suffer only mild symptoms before making a recovery.
*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat