Iran: Death toll from coronavirus climbs to 611

The death toll from the novel coronavirus outbreak in Iran rose to 611, state TV reported on Friday, Reuters reports.

Authorities said 97 people died in the last 24 hours, while 1,365 new cases emerged, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 12,729, Iran’s state TV quoted Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour as saying.

A total of 4,339 people have been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the virus, Jahanpour added.

Turkey, which has only five confirmed cases of coronavirus, closed its land borders and suspended air travel to Iran last month.

Besides China, Italy and South Korea, Iran is among the worst-affected countries since the outbreak of the disease last December.

As part of its efforts to contain the virus, Tehran has taken several measures including the closure of all schools and higher learning institutions, calling off sports events and banning government officials from leaving the country.

After emerging in China last December, the novel coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, has spread to over 129 countries and territories.

The global death toll is now over 5,400, with more than 142,000 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization, which declared the outbreak a “pandemic”.

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