A health official checks a passenger's body temperature at a traveler screening point in Shiberghan city, capital of Jawzjan province, Afghanistan, March 15, 2020. Photo: Xinhua

Afghanistan's Public Health Ministry has registered 285 new COVID-19 positive cases over the past 24 hours, raising the number of patients infected with the virus to 4,687 in the country, deputy to the spokesman for the ministry Tawhid Shakohmand said Monday.

Kabul with 161 positive cases stands first, followed by Kandahar with 30 cases and the remaining 94 cases are in other parts of the country, the official said.

Two patients have died due to the virus over the past 24 hours, Shakohmand told Xinhua, adding the number of deaths climbed to 122 since the outbreak of the pandemic in February in Afghanistan.

According to the official, 16 patients have recovered over the past 24 hours, totaling the recovered one to 574 in the country.