Masoumeh Ebtekar, Iran's vice president for women and family affairs, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to IRNA.

State media also reported on Thursday that Iranian cleric Hadi Khosroshahi died from coronavirus in Qom. Khosroshahi served as Iran's ambassador to the Vatican. 

The report comes after the country's deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi said that he was tested positive for the COVID-19 on Tuesday and Mojtaba Zonnour, chairman of Iran Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, announced he was infected with the virus on Thursday. 

Khosroshahi served as Iran's ambassador to the Vatican following the 1979 revolution.

The outbreak of coronavirus in Iran has affected 245 people, Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education announced on Thursday.

Kianush Jahanpur, head of the Public Relations and Information Center of Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said that among the infected people, 26 have died.

Iran announced the first cases of viral infection in the central Qom city on February 18. Jahanpur said Iran has raised the number of the laboratories for testing the virus infection to seven and it will be increased to 22 in the following week.