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HEALTH-VIRUS-IRAN
Iran records highest Covid-19 cases in a single day
TEHRAN, Sept 22, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Iran on Tuesday announced the highest
number of cases of the novel coronavirus in a single day, with 3,712 people
infected in 24 hours.
“We are seeing an increase in confirmed cases, and daily hospitalisations
in most of our provinces,” health ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said
in televised remarks.
“The rate of compliance with health protocols and wearing masks is
declining,” she warned.
The highest case number recorded before was on June 4, when 3,574 cases
were detected, according to official figures.
Iran has been battling the Middle East’s deadliest outbreak of Covid-19,
with the death toll standing at 24,656 people out of a total of 429,193
people infected.
On Monday, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged people to
respect government health regulations, implying that Iranians are taking the
threat of the virus lightly.
Iran took various restrictive measures to stem the virus but without ever
imposing a full lockdown, with its economy already hit after the United
States reimposed sanctions in 2018.
While regions have been coded with a traffic light style system of risk —
white, yellow and red — the health ministry has said the whole country
should now be considered “red”.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1947 hrs