Iran announced 3,574 new coronavirus infections Thursday, its highest daily count since the outbreak began in February.
It was the fourth straight day that the daily caseload had topped 3,000. The previous high was 3,186, recorded on March 30, at the height of the initial outbreak.
Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said that the surge in new cases might be the result of wider testing rather than a second wave of infection.
He said that Iran had now conducted more than a million tests.
But the health ministry has been taking no chances and has stepped up a public health campaign in recent days reminding people to protect themselves and observe social distancing.
The ministry spokesman said 59 people had died of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, taking Iran's overall official toll to 8,071.
A total of 164,270 people have tested positive for the virus.
Iran's president warned the public on Wednesday that restrictions may have to be reimposed to fight the coronavirus if the country is hit by a second wave of infections.
“If in any part of the country these warnings aren’t taken seriously and God forbid the outbreak of illness peaks again, the authorities will have to reimpose restrictions,” President Hassan Rouhani said in remarks on his website.
“This issue will create problems for the ordinary life of citizens and will also bring serious economic damage to the society.”
Government employees went back to work and mosques resumed daily prayers on Saturday as part of the relaxation of the lockdown.
Authorities had to reimpose restrictions in the southern provinces of Khuzestan and Sistan Baluchestan in mid-May after an uptick of cases there.
Trips should only be taken for essential matters, Rouhani said on Wednesday.
