The new coronavirus outbreak has killed another 97 people in Iran, pushing the death toll in the country to 611 amid 12,729 confirmed cases, Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said Saturday.
Iran is suffering from the worst outbreak in the Middle East. The virus has also infected a number of senior officials there.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.
The vast majority of people recover from the new virus in a matter of weeks, but the outbreak has caused more than 5,000 deaths worldwide.
Jahanpour told a televised news conference on Saturday that more than 4,300 of those with confirmed infections had recovered so far.
Tehran province had the highest number of new cases with 347, followed by Isfahan with 155 and the northern region of Alborz with 134.
"Naturally, the number of confirmed cases will increase" even more as Iran steps up its laboratory sampling and tests, he said.
