Over 100 People Died in Iran From COVID-19 Over Past Day - Health Official

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - More than 100 people have died from the coronavirus disease, COVID-19, in Iran in the course of the past 24 hours, while the total number of those infected in the country has reached 13,938 people, Alireza Vahabzadeh, an adviser to Iran's health minister, has said.

"Since yesterday's noon [08:30 GMT], 1,209 new cases of the coronavirus infection have been detected. The overall number of those infected reached 13,938; 4,509 people have recovered. Over the past 24 hours, 113 people died, bringing the total number of fatalities to 724", the adviser wrote on Twitter.

Health Ministry Spokesman Kianush Jahanpur confirmed the figures speaking live on the IRINN TV channel on Sunday. Sunday marked the first day since the eruption of the COVID-19 outbreak in the Islamic Republic when the number of those who died from it surpassed 100.

Iranian family wear protective masks to prevent contracting a coronavirus, as they stand at Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran February 20, 2020.

© REUTERS / WANA NEWS AGENCY

Iran remains one of the worst-hit countries besides mainland China, with multiple top-ranking officials having been diagnosed with the coronavirus: Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri, Minister of Cultural Heritage Ali Asghar Mounesan, Minister of Industry Reza Rahmani, and several MPs and have been infected, according to official reports.