Iran posts new daily record in Covid deaths

Iran announced another 239 fatalities from the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, the deadliest single day for the Middle East country hardest hit by the pandemic.

Health ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said Covid-19 has now claimed 27,658 lives out of 483,844 cases of infection in the country.

The Islamic republic's previous record death toll had been reached on Monday, when it reported 235 fatalities due to the virus.

On Tuesday, Iran announced 4,151 coronavirus infections, also a record high for a single day.

Iran surpassed 4,000 cases again on Wednesday, with Lari saying 4,019 people tested positive for the virus in the 24 hours to midday.

The health situation in Iran has worsened in recent weeks, with provincial authorities indicating it would be compulsory to wear masks in all public places in Tehran from Saturday in a bid to halt the virus' spread.

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