A sum of 17,605 new patients infected with COVID-19 have been identified in the country based on confirmed diagnosis criteria during the past 24 hours.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media that the Iranian Health Ministry's Public Relations Center said on Friday, and added, "2,537 patients have been hospitalized during the same time span."

It further said that the total number of COVID-19 patients has increased to 5,396,013.

"Unfortunately, 364 patients have lost their lives in the past 24 hours, increasing the number of the dead to 116,436," the ministry noted.