ANKARA

A six-year old child died Tuesday in Iran’s North Khorasan province due to the novel coronavirus, according to North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences.

In a statement, the university said 189 cases were detected in the province, 19 patients of whom had died.

A total of 99 people, who had been treated from the virus, were discharged from hospitals in the province, it said.

According to Iran's Health Ministry, the average age of people who died from coronavirus was 67.

Previously, a 3-year-old toddler with leukemia had lost his life to the disease.

Although elderly people are at higher risk for severe illness, doctors warn that the disease can lead to fatal consequences also to children and young people with weakened immune systems.

Health authorities in Iran said 127 people have died from coronavirus over the past 24 hours, pushing the death toll up to 1,812. A total of 1,411 new virus cases were detected, raising the country's infections to 23,049.

The virus first emerged in Wuhan, China last December and has spread to at least 168 countries and territories. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a pandemic.

There are more than 381,620 confirmed cases worldwide and the death toll now tops 16,563, while over 101,800 people have recovered, according to U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz