Coronavirus In Iran: COVID-19 Death Toll Reaches Close To 2,000, 122 Deaths Recorded In One Day

Iran’s death toll from the coronavirus jumped by 122 in 24 hours to 1,934 Tuesday, Kianoush Jahanpour, Iran’s Health Ministry spokesman, said.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said about half of all government employees were at home as part of the nation’s efforts at stemming the spread of COVID-19, Reuters reported, citing local media. He said the temporary release of the prisoners will be further extended toward mid-April.

On Monday, the country’s death toll from the coronavirus rose to 1,812, with 127 new deaths reported in a matter of 24 hours. The total number of infections reached 24,811 on Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins website.

Iran is one of the worst-hit countries by the viral pandemic. The first few cases of the coronavirus in the country were reported in Qom, a spiritual center of ruling Shiite clerics and also a home to 1.2 million people, which soon spiraled to other areas. Satellite images earlier this month showed that the country was digging new graveyard outside the city possibly establishing the fact that there has been more severe an outbreak than what the government admitted.