The death toll due rt the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 in Iran rose by 73 in the last 24 hours and reached 5,031 on Saturday, the health ministry spokesperson Kianush Jahanpour mentioned on the state TV.
The number of death recorded daily is one of the lowest in recent days, he said. The total number of people diagnosed with the COVID-19 disease caused by the new virus reached 80,868, he said.
Coronavirus in Iran
A parliamentary report released earlier this week said the coronavirus death toll might be almost double the figures announced by the health ministry, and the number of infections eight to 10 times more. Iran is the Middle Eastern country worst-affected by the COVID-19 respiratory disease and has one of the world's highest death tolls.
The coronavirus outbreak has claimed the lives of more than 150,000 people globally infecting nearly two and a half million people worldwide. The virus outbreak which probably originated from the Chinese city of Wuhan in the Hubei province has been described by the WHO as a pandemic.
(With agency inputs)
