Iranian authorities on Thursday announced 149 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, raising the toll to 1,284 in a country that is one of the worst hit by the pandemic.
While Thursday’s death toll surpassed that of the previous day’s — 147 were reported on Wednesday — the number of new cases has fallen, according to figures provided by Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi.
A total of 18,407 people have contracted the disease in Iran, with 1,046 new cases confirmed in the last 24 hours.
“In 11 provinces” out of 31, “the number of infections has decreased because people have followed our guidelines”, Raisi said, renewing the call for Iranians to stay home.