Iran suffering ‘third wave’ as it reports record daily cases

♦ Iran reported record high virus cases yesterday, a day after the health ministry warned the whole country was on red alert amid a “third wave” of infections.

The ministry registered 4,151 new cases over the past 24 hours, a period in which 227 patients died.

Iran has now reported 479,825 Covid cases and 27,419 deaths from the virus, with all of its 31 provinces affected. Tehran, the worst-hit city, entered a partial week-long lockdown on Saturday, with face masks mandatory in public and mosques, libraries, schools, and public institutions closed. Christoph Hamelmann, the WHO’S representative in Iran, said there was no formal definition for a “third wave”, but said cases would rise “as long as there is no vaccine”.