Iran sets coronavirus infection record for 3rd straight day
"Unfortunately with 118 new fatalities since yesterday, we have recorded a total of 63,884 coronavirus deaths...The number of infected people in the country has reached 2,006,934 with 22,586 new cases since Wednesday," ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state television.
- World
- AP
- Published Date: 01:44 | 08 April 2021
- Modified Date: 01:49 | 08 April 2021
Iran hit a new coronavirus infection record on Thursday for the third straight day, reporting 22,586 new cases as the country grapples with a severe spike following the Persian New Year holiday.
The new case count pushes Iran's total during the pandemic over 2 million, including 63,884 deaths after health authorities reported 185 new daily fatalities due to COVID-19. The single-day infection toll exceeded the previous record set Wednesday by over 1,600.
Iran, which has battled the worst coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East for over a year, is in the midst of a major surge after millions defied government guidance to gather and travel during Nowruz, the country's biggest holiday. The health minister has ordered non-essential shops in the capital and other major cities closed. The nation's vaccine rollout, meanwhile, has gotten off to a slow start.
Sima Sadat Lari, Health Ministry spokeswoman, on Thursday urged an increasingly wary public to avoid big gatherings, calling it a "moral and social responsibility."
"The very dangerous situation of the disease in recent days has led to us losing a number of compatriots," she said. "Yet many of us still cannot say 'no' to invitations to parties, weddings and funerals."