2,596 new cases of coronavirus were reported over the past 24 hours in Iran, increasing the total number of infections in the country to 197,647, Lari said.

There are at least 2,795 people in intensive care units, Lari said, adding that, of those tested positive for the virus, 156,991 have recovered and been discharged from hospital.

So far, 1,344,599 tests have been taken across the country to detect infected cases, said the Health Ministry spokeswoman.

She urged people to obey health guidelines, describing provinces of Bushehr, East Azarbaijan, Kermanshah, and Hormozgan as 'red' regarding the spread of the disease.

According to Worldometer, which is a reference website that provides counters and real-time statistics for diverse topics, the global death toll from coronavirus has surpassed 452,225 with 8,478,208 cases and more than 4,444,418 recoveries.