Iranian army sets up 2,000-bed anti-coronavirus hospital in Tehran

Iranian army on Wednesday launched a 2,000-bed hospital in the capital Tehran as Iran struggles to stem the novel coronavirus, Tehran Times daily reported.

Habibollah Sayyari, commander of the army's biodefense unit, said the aim of setting up the hospital is to help the country's health institutions in their combat against the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The hospital was set up at the permanent venue of Tehran International Exhibitions, which has the capacity to accommodate 1,000 more beds.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered the armed forces to contribute to health ministry's fight against the disease.

Iran is the worst-hit country by the coronavirus in the Middle East.

Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education on Wednesday confirmed that 27,017 people in the country have been infected with coronavirus, of whom 2,077 have died.