Coronavirus claims 2 more lives in Iran, toll 4

Tehran: With the death of two more people due to the deadly coronavirus in Iran, the overall toll in the country has increased to four, a senior health official said.

"So far, 18 Iranians have been infected by the virus, out of which four have died," Xinhua news agency quoted Alireza Vahabzadeh, an advisor to the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, as saying to the state-run IRNA news.

The first two deaths were reported on Wednesday in the city of Qom. The victims died the same day they were tested positive for the virus, Press TV said in a report.

The deaths came nearly a month after authorities evacuated 57 Iranian students from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak.

The students were released from a 14-day quarantine in Tehran on Tuesday.

Outside China, Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, South Korea and France have all reported deaths.