The threshold of 90,000 coronavirus infections has been reached in Iran, according to official figures published on Sunday, April 26, which also reports the lowest number of daily deaths due to the pandemic since mid-March.

Between Saturday noon and Sunday at midday, health authorities identified 1,153 new infections, bringing the total of confirmed cases of Covid-19 to 90,481, said Kianouche Jahanpour, spokesman for the Ministry of Health.

Over 5,700 dead in total

At the same time, an additional 60 deaths from the virus have been recorded, bringing the toll of the pandemic in Iran to 5,710 dead, the spokesman added in his daily press briefing. This is the lowest number of daily deaths announced by the ministry since March 10.

Iran, which announced its first cases of contamination in February, is by far the country most affected by coronavirus in the Middle East.

Although the daily death toll from viral pneumonia is "dropping sharply", health guidelines and social distancing should continue to be followed, said Kianouche Jahanpour.

Gradual reopening of shops

Since April 11, a gradual reopening of businesses has been authorized by the state, which has also lifted restrictions on travel within the country.

Schools, universities, mosques, Shiite shrines, cinemas, stadiums and other gathering places remain closed throughout the country, which has been living since Saturday to the rhythm of Ramadan.

Iranian official figures are considered largely underestimated abroad, but also inside the country. Some Iranian health officials have even worried about a possible resurgence of the virus.

The coordinator of the fight against the epidemic of coronavirus in the capital, Aliréza Zali, quoted Saturday by the semi-official agency Isna, criticized reopening of shops "in a hurry", risking to create "new waves "of contamination and" complicate the control of the epidemic ".

Another senior Ministry of Health official voiced similar fears for other hard-hit provinces.

Although the authorities no longer give details of contamination and deaths by province, that of Tehran is said to be among the most affected if not the most affected by the pandemic.

With AFP

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