Iran on Monday confirmed 34 more fatalities from coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 7,451. A further 2,023 people have tested positive for COVID-19, raising the overall count to 137,724, said the Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour. He said 107,713 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals so far, while 2,585 patients remain in critical condition. In Iran, one of the countries in the Middle East hardest hit by the disease, COVID-19 was first detected in the city of Qom on February 19 and then spread throughout the country. Since first appearing in China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 188 countries and regions. The US, Russia, Brazil, and several European countries are currently the hardest hit in the world. The pandemic has killed more than 345,000 people worldwide, with over 5.48 million confirmed cases, while recoveries have surpassed 2.17 million, according to figures compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.