Tehran (AFP)
Iran announced on Monday nearly 3,000 new infections with the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, the largest increase in two months in the country.
"People seem to think that the coronavirus is finished" but it is "far from being" and "we could witness at any time (another) dangerous peak", warned the Minister of Health Saïd Namaki, in a TV interview.
According to the ministry's spokesperson, Kianouche Jahanpour, 2,979 new cases were recorded, bringing the total number of Covid-19 patients to 154,445.
The virus has also killed 7,878 people in the Islamic Republic, including 81 in the past 24 hours.
The provinces of Hormozgan (south), Kermanshah (west) and Sistan-Baluchistan (southeast) are currently experiencing a resurgence of infections, said Namaki.
Half of the victims recorded in the past 24 hours have been located in three provinces, he added, without naming them.
"If this continues, the death toll could drop to three digits."
The number of new cases registered in Iran has increased almost constantly since May 2, when the country announced that it had reached a two-month low.
According to some foreign experts but also several Iranian officials, the government figures are largely underestimated.
Health authorities have repeatedly alerted to the situation in the southwestern province of Khuzestan.
Khouzestan remains classified red - the highest level of risk according to the color code established by the authorities -, and is the only province where containment measures have been re-imposed to fight the epidemic.
"We implored people not to organize weddings or funerals but they did not listen," especially in Khuzestan, said Namaki.
© 2020 AFP