TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Turkey has dispatched a cargo of medical supplies to Iran to help the country combat the outbreak of the new coronavirus based on an agreement reached between the two countries.

- Politics news -

The medical supplies were dispatched from Turkey after an agreement was signed between Iranian Ambassador to Ankara Mohammad Farazmand and the Turkish deputy minister of trade.

The cargo includes 1,000 coronavirus test kits, 4,715 protective gowns, 2,000 hospital aprons, 78,000 three-layer masks, 2,400 protective glasses, and 1,000 N95 masks.

Turkey is seeking to send medical and pharmaceutical supplies to 85 other countries as well, according to the deputy trade minister.

Medical staffs in all 31 provinces of Iran have been working tirelessly over the past weeks to contain the novel coronavirus.

First detected in Wuhan city in central China in December, the virus has spread to more than 140 countries.

More than 182,000 have been infected globally, according to the WHO. Of those, about 80,000 have recovered.

The spokesman for the Iranian Health Ministry said on Tuesday that since the outbreak of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country, 988 people have lost their lives and 5,389 others have completely recovered from the infectious disease.

Kianoush Jahanpour said that since yesterday noon, the total number of coronavirus cases in the country has increased by 1,178, reaching 16,169.

Over the past 24 hours, 125 patients have lost their lives, the spokesman said, adding that the death toll from the new coronavirus epidemic in the country has risen to 988.

Fortunately, 5,389 patients infected with the COVID-19 have recovered and have been discharged from the hospital so far, he said.