Photo: Xinhua

TEHRAN, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Iran's health ministry reported 13,421 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, raising the total nationwide infections to 801,894.

The pandemic has so far claimed 42,941 lives in Iran, up by 480 in the past 24 hours, said Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, during her daily briefing.

A total of 576,983 people have recovered from the disease and been discharged from hospitals, while 5,712 remain in intensive care units, Lari added.

Currently, the risk of infection is high in 27 Iranian provinces, Lari noted.

Iran announced its first cases of COVID-19 on Feb. 19.