Out of 31 Iranian provinces, four are registering alarming coronavirus infections and 26 are in a red state, Health Ministry’s Spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari was quoted as saying by ISNA on Sunday.
“The total number of red counties has risen from 105 during the past week to 158,” Lari said, noting the falling trend in adherence to health protocols, including the facemask wearing order.
Within 24 hours, 3,362 tested positive for Covid-19, 40% of whom were hospitalized on Sunday, bringing the tally of cases to 446,448.
According to Lari, 195 overnight deaths took the total toll to 25,589.
Some 374,000 have recovered from the infectious disease or had regained enough health to be discharged from hospitals and 4,059 are in critical condition, Lari added.
Laboratories throughout Iran have carried out over 3.93 million diagnostic tests to track down infections.
The number of worldwide confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 33.1 million on Sunday, as the death toll surpassed the one million mark.
No Service to Violators
Tehran’s Governor General Anoushirvan Mohseni Bandpey on the sidelines of an event on Sunday said government offices have been prohibited from offering services to individuals who refuse to wear facemask.
“Under a pilot scheme in Tehran, government offices are prohibited from offering services to those who do not wear face coverings,” Bandpey said.
President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday announced the launch of a pilot program in Tehran, which will penalize violations of mitigation guidelines and if it proves to be effective, the initiative will expand to other cities.
According to the official, hospitalizations rose sharply due to intercity travels and public gatherings.
“On Friday, the number of hospitalizations in the province of Tehran surged by 300,” he said.
The province’s governor-general pointed out that they are improving supervision over places of business and closing down wedding halls, gyms and the like to contain the pandemic.
A third wave of infections has hit the capital Tehran in the past few days, with many health officials asserting that the third wave is much deadlier than the second.
Only days into the third wave, the daily count of confirmed Covid-19 cases hit a record high of 3,712 last Tuesday.