Iran reports 2,531 new COVID-19 cases, 212,501 in total
Xinhua
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An Iranian man walks in front of a pstry shop in the capital Tehran on June 3, 2020. (Photo: AFP)

TEHRAN, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Iran reported 2,531 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, taking the total number in the country to 212,501 on Wednesday, official IRNA news agency reported.

Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said during her daily briefing that 133 people died from the virus overnight, taking the death toll to 9,996.

So far, 172,096 have recovered and 2,869 are in critical condition, said Lari.

According to the health spokeswoman, 1,502,525 lab tests for COVID-19 have been carried out in Iran as of Wednesday.

Iran announced its first coronavirus cases 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.