Iran has registered a record 235 deaths in the past 24 hours from its outbreak of the new coronavirus, Health Ministry figures show.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, the spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health, Sima Sadat Lari, said a total of 296,273 individuals have so far contracted the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) across the country.
She added that 235 fatalities have been registered in the past 24 hours, raising the total toll to 16,147.
The official also reported 2,667 new COVID-19 cases during the same period, 1,687 of whom have been hospitalized.
Lari said as many as 257,019 individuals have recovered from the coronavirus, adding that 2,380,122 people have been tested for the virus in the country so far.
She noted that 15 provinces across the country are in the red zone while the situation is alarming in 11 provinces.
She emphasized that Tehran, the most populous province, has turned red for the first time since the first peak of the virus, calling on Iranians to seriously observe health protocols and restrictions to stem the spread of the disease.
Lari said the number of daily hospitalizations in the country is approaching the peak of the disease in March.
Head of the National Headquarters for Managing and Fighting the Coronavirus in Tehran Alireza Zali also said restrictive measures would be extended in the capital at least until Friday.
He added that exhibitions and public gatherings are banned in Tehran given the difficult and sensitive situation unfolding in the country, and that holding any such gathering would be considered as “too risky.”
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said late last month that wearing masks will become mandatory as of July 5 in all places of public gathering that have been declared high-risk by the Health Ministry.
Iran has been among the countries hit hard by the coronavirus that first showed up in China in late December 2019 before spreading across the globe.
Illegal US sanctions have hampered the virus battle in Iran, which reported its first COVID-19 infection cases in late February.
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