In Iran, every 10 minutes one person dies from the coronavirus
Death toll in Iran has shot past a grim landmark on Wednesday, reaching four digits for the first time, with a total death toll of 1,284
The novel coronavirus kills one person every 10 minutes in Iran, a spokesperson of its health ministry tweeted on Thursday.
The death toll in the Middle East worst-affected country climbed to 1,284.
Every hour round 50 Iranians are contracting the virus, reports the state news agency Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoting health ministry spokesperson Kianoush Jahanpour.
Jahanpour tweeted on Thursday urgeing people to spend Nowruz, the country's New Year celebrations, at home this year.
Iran's Deputy Health Minister Alireza Reisi was quoted as saying that 147 people died over a 24-hour period, while 1,192 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total to 17,361.
On Thursday, a doctor working at a hospital in the capital Tehran died. 10 doctors and four nurses have died of COVID-19 in Iran till now.
Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University sates that over 219,000 cases have been reported worldwide since last December. Globally, the death toll is now over 8,900, while more than 84,000 patients have fully recovered.