YANGON, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar reported two more COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday morning, bringing the death toll in the country to 12, according to a release from the Health and Sports Ministry.

According to the release, a 51-year-old man and a 57-year-old woman with underlying hypertension and diabetes died of heart failure and acute respiratory failure due to COVID-19 with severe pneumonia on Monday and Wednesday morning.

Ninety-eight more locally-transmitted cases were reported in the country, raising the total number to 1,807, the ministry's figures showed.

According to the release, the newly-confirmed cases are from Nay Pyi Taw Union Territory, Yangon and Bago regions, Rakhine and Kachin states.

A total of 179,471 samples have been tested for COVID-19 and 8,395 patients are currently under investigation, the ministry said.

According to the ministry, 460 patients have recovered from the disease so far.

Myanmar reported its first two positive cases of COVID-19 on March 23.