Iran announces 215 virus deaths in 24 hours

Iran on Friday announced another 215 coronavirus deaths, a figure that is close to the country's recent daily record as it battles the Middle East's deadliest outbreak.

With the new fatalities, "the total number of victims of the COVID-19 illness has now reached 15,289 deaths", health ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on state television.

Iran announced its first novel coronavirus cases on February 19, and has grappled with a rise in deaths from the respiratory disease since the end of June.

On Tuesday it registered 229 deaths, its highest single-day toll.

A further 2,489 virus cases were registered in the last 24 hours, Lari said Friday, taking the total number of infections to 286,523.

She said 12 of Iran's 31 provinces were classified as "red", the highest category in the country's virus risk scaling.

"If people follow instructions, the number of patients hospitalised in these provinces will decrease, reducing pressure on medical staff," Lari said.

Iran said earlier this month that 5,000 health workers had been infected with the novel coronavirus and 140 had died.

Authorities have made masks mandatory in enclosed public spaces and allowed the hardest-hit provinces, including Tehran, to reimpose restrictive measures

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