Iran's death toll from new coronavirus outbreak rises to 1,284

Iran's death toll from the coronavirus outbreak jumped to 1,284 on Thursday, a health ministry official told state TV, as the total number of infected people increased to 18,407 in the Islamic Republic, the worst-affected country in the Middle East.

"With 149 new deaths in the past 24 hours, the death toll from the virus reaches 1,284. Unfortunately, we had 1,046 new cases of the infection since yesterday," said Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi.