Iran's Health Ministry on Wednesday reported nearly 21,000 COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day figure since the first case was detected in February 2020 in the country, according to local media.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media that a total of 193 more people died in the last 24 hours, state news agency IRNA quoted Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari as saying.

Some 20,954 new cases had been identified, some 2,319 of whom have been hospitalized, Lari said.

Lari said the death toll increased to 63,699, and the number of cases to a total of over 1.98 million.

The spokeswoman said as many as 4,177 patients were in critical condition, while recoveries exceeded 1.67 million.