TEHRAN, Mar. 26 (MNA) - The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, claimed lives of 81 more Iranians over the past 24 hours with the detection of 7,980 new COVID-19 cases in the country, according to the Iranian Health Ministry.

Health Ministry Spokesperson Sima Lari made the announcement on Friday, stating that 7,980 new infected cases have been detected since yesterday, increasing the total number of infections in Iran to 1,838,803.

Over the last 24 hours, 81 people died due to the deadly virus, bringing the total death toll to 62,223, she added.

Lari noted that 3,908 cases are in critical condition while 1,577,408 patients suffering from the novel coronavirus have recovered and been discharged from hospitals so far.

So far, 12,481,917 tests have been taken across the country to detect infected cases, said the Health Ministry spokesperson.

According to the latest figures on Friday, over 124,364,349 people have so far been infected with the novel coronavirus globally, with the deaths having reached 124,364,349 and recoveries amounting to 100,351,074.

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