ANKARA 

The Dominican Republic continues to be the worst hit country by the novel coronavirus in the Caribbeans on Tuesday, as the epidemic has so far claimed 177 lives.

According to the running tally of the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University, the country also has the highest number of confirmed cases with 3,167 among its nearly 11 million population.

In all, more than 150 people have recovered from the disease so far.

On Monday, the Dominican Republic announced that it postponed presidential and legislative elections from May 17 to July 5 due to the coronavirus-related health emergency in the country.

Puerto Rico follows the Dominican Republic with 903 infections and 45 fatalities, while in Cuba there are 726 confirmed cases and 21 deaths recorded.

Case and death numbers remain low in Haiti, with only 40 testing positive for the virus and and three patients dying.

After originating in Wuhan, China last December, the virus has spread to at least 185 countries and regions across the world, with Europe and the U.S. now being the worst-hit regions.

The virus has infected over 1.93 million people worldwide, while more than 120,400 have died and close to 462,000 have recovered from the disease, according to data compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.