TEHRAN, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The outbreak of novel coronavirus in Iran has affected 7,161 people, Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education said on Monday.

An Iranian woman wears a protective mask in the capital Tehran on March 4, 2020. (Photo: AFP)

Of the total infected people, 237 have died, said Kianush Jahanpur, head of Public Relations and Information Center of the ministry.

Jahanpur said that 2,394 of the affected people have been recovered.

According to the announcement, Tehran records 1,945 cases of infection, the highest number among the country's provinces, followed by Qom with 712 cases and Mazandaran with 633 cases.

Iran announced the first cases of the virus infection in the central city of Qom on Feb. 19.

A team comprising five experts from the Red Cross Society of China arrived in Tehran on Feb. 29. The medical team met with the Iranian Red Crescent Society to discuss how to prevent and control the spread of the virus in the country.

The Chinese medical team in Iran has set "an excellent example of 'peer-to-peer' experience sharing," Maria van Kerkhove, technical lead for the World Health Organization's Health Emergencies Program, told a daily briefing in Geneva in early March.