Iran confirms 2,279 new COVID-19 cases, 352,558 in total

Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-20 18:38:09|Editor: huaxia

TEHRAN, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Iran's confirmed novel coronavirus cases rose to 352,558 on Thursday after an overnight registration of 2,279 new infections, official IRNA new agency reported.

Sima Sadat Lari, the spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said at her daily briefing that out of the new cases in the past 24 hours, 1,038 have been hospitalized.

The pandemic has so far claimed 20,264 lives in Iran, up by 139 in the past 24 hours.

Besides, 304,236 have recovered and been discharged from hospitals while 3,869 remain in critical condition.

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. Enditem

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