Tehran authorities announced on Thursday 117 additional deaths from the new coronavirus, bringing the official death toll to Iran, one of the countries most affected by Covid-19 disease, to more than 4,000. In his daily press briefing, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Kianouche Jahanpour, reported the death of "117 people in the past 24 hours" . " We have a total of 4,110 deaths," he added.
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However, he said the latest figures "clearly show a decrease in the number of new cases of contamination" . "We have detected 1,634 new cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 66,220," he added. The previous workup was 1997 new cases in 24 hours. "We owe the reduction in the number of cases (...) to the participation of our dear people, as well as to the involvement" of health personnel, said Kianouche Jahanpour.
The Islamic Republic, which announced on February 19 the first cases of contamination in the city of Qom (center), is by far the country most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in the Near and Middle East. Abroad, some nonetheless suspect Iranian official figures of being underestimated.
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In an attempt to limit the spread of the virus, authorities have closed schools and universities, as well as cinemas, stadiums and the main Shiite places of worship. They did not impose confinement, but asked the population to stay at home. Other restrictions were imposed, such as a ban on traveling between cities and the closure of most businesses deemed non-essential.
On Wednesday, President Hassan Rohani announced the reopening of certain "low risk" businesses from April 11, saying he wanted to "maintain economic activities as much as possible while fighting against the coronavirus" .
Iran's parliament held its first session Tuesday after a six-week hiatus due to the new coronavirus. At least 31 of the 290 members of parliament have tested positive for Covid-19 since the start of the epidemic in Iran.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday called on people to pray at home during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
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