People wearing face masks sit on a bench in Rasht, Iran, on Sept. 2, 2020. The total number of COVID-19 cases in Iran rose to 378,752 on Wednesday, after an overnight registration of 1,858 cases. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua)

on Friday, including 2,313 new patients overnight, according to Iran's health ministry.

During the past 24 hours, 1,253 Iranians were hospitalized due to complications from COVID-19, Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said at her daily briefing.

The pandemic has so far claimed 22,913 lives in Iran, up by 115 in the past 24 hours, said Lari.

Besides, 342,539 people have recovered and been discharged from hospitals while 3,753 remain in intensive care units.

The spokeswoman said that 13 Iranian provinces are still in high-risk 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.