Iran Registers 151 New COVID-19 Deaths, Total Death Toll Rises To 3,603 - Health Ministry

TEHRAN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th April, 2020) Iran has registered 151 new coronavirus-related deaths in the preceding 24 hours, raising the overall death toll in the country since the start of the outbreak to 3,603, the Health Ministry's spokesman said on Saturday.

"Unfortunately, 151 people have died over the past 24 hours in hospitals and medical facilities. The total number of deaths as a result of the coronavirus disease is 3,603," Kianush Jahanpur told the IRINN tv channel.

The Health Ministry spokesman also confirmed that more than 2,400 new cases of the disease were reported in the previous 24 hours.

"Over the past 24 hours, we have confirmed 2,483 new cases of the coronavirus infection. Based on this data, the number of infected people has risen to 58,226," he said.

Jahanpur also announced that 22,011 people have recovered after contracting the disease.

Earlier in the day, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced that Tehran intends to reinstate travel between provinces as of April 18. Businesses will also be allowed to resume their activities from this date, the president said.

Iran's ambassador to Belgium Gholamhossein Dehghani sent a letter to the EU's foreign policy chief on Saturday, calling for the lifting of US sanctions that he claimed are drastically hindering Iran's ability to combat COVID-19.