FILE PHOTO: Iranians in Protective Masks Ride the Subway, After the Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), in Tehran, Iran, June 28, 2020. WANA (Western Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
(Reuters) – Iran recorded its highest number of deaths from COVID-19 in a 24-hour period, official figures from the Health Ministry showed on Sunday.
The 163 deaths reported on Sunday beat the previous record last Monday, when the health ministry reported 162 deaths in one day.
The Islamic Republic has registered a total of 11,571 deaths and 240,438 coronavirus infections, health ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said in a statement on state television. There have been 201,330 recoveries, she said.
The number of new infections and daily deaths has increased significantly in the past week after the gradual lifting of restrictions that began in mid-April.
Iranians who do not wear masks will be denied state services and workplaces that do not comply with health protocols will be closed for a week, President Hassan Rouhani said Saturday when he launched new measures to try to curb the coronavirus.
Babak Dehghanpisheh’s reports; Elaine Hardcastle Edition
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