Iran COVID-19 Cases Total 1,501... Deaths 66

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The Iranian Ministry of Health announced on the 2nd (local time) at noon that the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) increased by 523 from the previous day to 1,501. The death toll rose by 12 to 66.

As of that day, 219 people had recovered and been discharged. The fatality rate also dropped to 4.4%. This is because the increase in COVID-19 cases in Iran is very steep. From the 28th of last month to that day, the daily increase rate exceeded 60% for four consecutive days.

Local media analyzed that this was due to testing equipment capable of confirming COVID-19 infections arriving from the World Health Organization (WHO) and China, which led to the full-scale testing of suspected patients.

The Iranian Ministry of Health announced that starting from the 3rd, it will organize 300,000 testing teams composed of the paramilitary Basij militia and medical personnel to visit every household and identify suspected patients. The number of households in Iran is approximately 24 million.

Excluding China, Iran has the highest number of deaths and recoveries among the outbreak countries. Ali Rabiei, spokesperson for the Iranian government, said at a press conference that "the next two weeks will be a very difficult period due to the spread of COVID-19," and expressed hope that "the spread of COVID-19 will subside by the end of March when the weather becomes warmer."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.