Iran says virus cases top 200,000
TEHRAN AFP JUNE19,2020- Iran said its novel coronavirus caseload passed the 200,000 mark on Friday, as authorities gave provinces the power to reimpose measures aimed at stemming the spread of the virus.
Official figures have shown an upward trajectory in new confirmed COVID-19 cases since early May, when Iran hit a near two-month low in recorded infections.
Health ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on state television that another 2,615 people in Iran had tested positive for the virus in the past 24 hours.
That brought to 200,262 the total number of confirmed cases since the country’s outbreak emerged four months ago.
The new cases were “a reflection of (the Iranian people’s) cooperation in the past two to four weeks,” said Lari, who again urged citizens to observe health protocols and social distancing.
She added that 120 fatalities in the past day had taken the overall toll to 9,392.
There has been scepticism at home and abroad about Iran’s official figures, with concerns the real toll could be much higher.
Six of Iran’s 31 provinces -- Bushehr, Hormozgan, Kermanshah, Kurdistan, Sistan and Baluchistan, and West Azerbaijan -- are currently “red”, the highest level on the country’s colour-coded risk scale. The number was five on Thursday.
Deputy Health Minister Hossein Erfani told state television on Friday that Iran had implemented what it calls “dynamic social distancing”.
The measure enabled “each province to decide for itself” regarding restrictive measures.