“With 134 new deaths in the past 24 hours, the death toll from the virus has reached 3,294. Unfortunately, we had 2,715 new cases since yesterday,” Jahanpoor said on state TV.
He also put the number of those who have so far recovered from the viral infection at 17,935.
Iran’s Health Minister Saeed Namaki said on Thursday that great advances had been made in the diagnosis and treatment of the novel coronavirus which can largely change the country’s virus situation in the near future.
“We have made great advances in the diagnosis of the novel coronavirus. This has helped us identify more COVID-19 cases across the country. More people will recover in the coming days. This will greatly elevate Iran’s international standing regarding stemming the coronavirus outbreak," Namaki said on Thursday while speaking on the sidelines of a video conference with officials of the World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office.
Iran, which is grappling with widespread US sanctions banning medical aid from reaching the country, has been among the worst affected by the disease.
The country’s ranking in the number of confirmed cases has, however, dropped from second place to the sixth over the past month despite US sanctions.