Tasnim � The total number of coronavirus cases in Iran rose to 14,991 on Monday, of whom nearly 5,000 have recovered and left the hospital, the Health Ministry announced.

Speaking at a daily press conference on Monday, Health Ministry Spokesman Kianoosh Jahanpoor said the death toll from COVID-19 in Iran has risen to 853 after 129 patients died over the past 24 hours.

The number of people tested positive for the coronavirus in the country has hit 14,991, he noted, saying 1,053 new cases have been detected since yesterday.

A total of 4,996 patients have been discharged from the hospital after recovering from the disease, he added.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Europe the �epicenter� of the pandemic which originated in China.

To date, an estimated 162,687 people have been infected worldwide, with just under half of them in China (81,003 cases). An estimated 6,065 people have died, 3,085 of them in China.