Tehran: Iran says the new coronavirus has killed 147 more people, a nearly 15 per cent spike that raises the death toll to 1,135 people amid 17,361 infections in the country.
That is the biggest 24-hour rise in deaths yet recorded by Iran’s Health Ministry since the virus first appeared in Iran in mid-February. Iran’s Deputy Health Minister, Alireza Raisi, announced the new tolls at a televized press conference today. The death toll’s continued sharp increase worries experts that the outbreak in the Islamic Republic is far from being contained.
Meanwhile, Friday will mark the Persian New Year, Nowruz, raising fears of people traveling and further spreading the virus. Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani defended his government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak in the face of of widespread criticism that officials acted too slowly and may have even covered up initial cases before infections rapidly spread across the country.