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On Thursday, April 2nd, Iran reported 124 more deaths from the coronavirus pandemic, taking its total tally to 3,160. Iran's Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour also announced that 3,111 new cases were registered in the country over the past 24 hours. Iran reported its first coronavirus cases on February 19 and has so far recorded 50,468 cases. Of those, 16,711 have recovered. An official lockdown hasn't been declared in Iran, but its government has urged citizens to stay indoors in order to contain the spread of the virus. Intercity travel was banned in the country until at least April 8. Four key Shiite pilgrimage sites, including the Fatima Masumeh shrine in Qom have been closed. Schools and universities remain closed until early April.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the Middle East - 32,000+, and the highest number of deaths from the virus in the region as well - 2,300+. They are not only faced with the burden of rapidly growing coronavirus numbers, but also with treating hundreds of cases of methanol poisoning. There's a common but rapidly spreading false belief in the country that methanol protects from the coronavirus, do many are ingesting the industrial alcohol they buy illegally from bootleggers as alcohol consumption is banned in the country. A five-year-old boy has been rendered blind by his parents as they ignorantly gave him methanol to drink as protection from the virus. An Iranian health worker in charge of the boy at hospital begged the public to stop consuming methanol as he stood over the intubated kid. Dr. Hossein Hassanian, an adviser to Iran's Health Ministry, told The Associated Press on Friday that approximately 480 people ha...

On Wednesday, March 25, Iran's Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 2,206 new coronavirus cases were recorded in the past 24 hours. The total of confirmed cases stands at 27,017, total number of deaths, stand at 2,206. “9,625 infected patients have recovered and been discharged from the hospital,” Jahanpour added. He also said that 47.5 million Iranians had been screened as part of a national mobilization plan. In a televised statement, Ali Rabiei, a government spokesman, said that President Hassan Rouhani took new measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, including an international and intercity travel ban.

Iran's Health Ministry spokesperson Kianoush Jahanpour said 1,028 new virus cases were detected over the past 24 hours, and 129 deaths recorded. The new death toll from the virus in Oran stands at 1,685, while the total number of cases stands at 21,637. Of the 21,637, 7,913 have been treated and discharged from hospital. The U.S. proposed aiding Iran fight the novel coronavirus but Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected U.S. assistance, citing an unfounded conspiracy theory which claims that the virus could be man-made, by America. “I do not know how real this accusation is but when it exists, who in their right mind would trust you to bring them medication?” Khamenei said. “Possibly your medicine is a way to spread the virus more.”

Iran's Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour, revealed at a news conference that Iran had recorded 966 new coronavirus cases and 123 more deaths over the past 24 hours. The number of daily deaths recorded was lower than Iran's highest daily surge of 149. He added that 7,635 people had recovered since the outbreak of the virus in Iran. In Turkey, its Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said late on Friday that the novel coronavirus had claimed 5 more lives, taking its death toll to 9, while the number of new cases had surged by 311, taking Turkey's total of confirmed cases to 670. In India, 60 cases were reported on Friday, taking the country's toll of confirmed cases to 283. The coronavirus outbreak in Indonesia has claimed 38 lives so far, with 81 new cases confirmed on Saturday, March 21. Indonesia now has a total of 450 confirmed cases and 20 recoveries.

On Wednesday, March 18, Iran registered its single biggest spike in deaths - a 15% increase - from the coronavirus outbreak as 147 more people died. The country's overall death toll now stands at 1,135. Iran also registered 1,192 new coronavirus cases, raising its tally of coronavirus cases to 17,161. Tehran province had the highest number of new infections - 213, second was Isfahan in central Iran with 162 cases. East Azerbaijan in the northwest came third with 84 cases.  In a televised news conference, Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi said: "Now everyone knows about this disease, and what is very strange is that some don't take it seriously. "If people help, we can control it, and if not, then expect it to last more than two months." The Deputy Health Minister implored for Iranians to be patient and follow government's instructions and adhere to warnings. "Just be patient for these two weeks so that, God willing, we can overcome this vir...

85,000 prisoners, including political prisoners, have been temporarily freed in Iran to help combat the spread of the coronavirus. A total of 14,991 people have already been infected so far in Iran, and the country has recorded 853 deaths. Gholamhossein Esmaili, a spokesman for Iran's judiciary, said: "Some 50% of those released are security-related prisoners... Also in the jails we have taken precautionary measures to confront the outbreak." On Monday, Iran recorded 129 coronavirus deaths, the largest number recorded in a single day since the outbreak of the virus in the country. At least 12 former and current Iranian officials are reported to have died from the coronavirus, including religious leader Ayatollah Hashem Bathayi Golpayegani. He died two days after testing positive, and was 78 years old.

On Saturday, March 14, Iran reported 97 new deaths from the coronavirus outbreak, taking the country’s coronavirus death toll to 611. Iran is the most coronavirus-afflicted country in the Middle East, with 12,729 cases. An Iranian health ministry official, Kianoush Janpour, told a televised news conference in Tehran: “1,365 fresh cases have been added to the number of confirmed infections in the past 24 hours.” He also said more than 4,300 of the 12,729 cases had recovered. Of the 12,729 cases, 2,500 of them were recorded in the last two days. Iran’s top officials, including its senior vice-president, cabinet members, members of parliament, Revolutionary Guard members and Health Ministry officials are among confirmed coronavirus cases. State TV said authorities would “soon” close the Masoume shrine in the holy city of Qom, which is the epicenter of the outbreak in Iran (without giving an exact date).

Iran is the country with the highest number of coronavirus infections in the Middle East. It has now had 9,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 354 deaths, with 63 of those deaths and 958 of those infections occurring in the last 24 hours. This is the highest single-day toll since the outbreak of the virus. Tehran, the Iranian capital recorded the most new infections with 256 cases, followed by the central province of Isfahan with 170 cases. China, Italy, South Korea and Iran are the worst-affected countries since the coronavirus outbreak last December. Iran's senior vice president and two ministers are among the newly infected cases. Reports from Iran indicate that a total of 2,959 people have recovered from the virus and have been discharged from hospital. The World Health Organization reports a global death toll of almost 4,300 and around 118,000 confirmed coronavirus cases. Tehran has taken a number of measures to contain the virus, including calling off sports events...