For the first time since the virus was reported in February 2020, overnight infections crossed the 40,000 mark, taking the tally of cases to 4.199 million, ISNA reported
The death toll set a new record for the second day in a row, lifting Sunday’s record by 46 to 588.
The new peak, triggered by the highly contagious Delta variant, has filled hospital beds across the country as the unvaccinated majority are left vulnerable to the mutation.
The dangerous variant kills one person every two minutes and is transmitted to someone new every two seconds, data collected by the Health Ministry showed.
Nader Tavakoli, a senior member of Tehran’s coronavirus taskforce, said that every record related to the pandemic was shattered over the past 24 hours.
He reported new records of 2,400 hospitalizations and 156 fatalities throughout the province, adding that, “We’ll see more deaths in coming days.”
Over 10,600 coronavirus patients have been admitted to Tehran’s hospitals and many are receiving treatment in makeshift hospitals.