The coronavirus outbreak has been worsening in Iran, as the number of infections, hospitalizations and fatalities due to the respiratory disease has been increasing in the past days.
Speaking at a daily press conference on Wednesday, Health Ministrys spokeswoman Sima Lari said the total number of people tested positive for COVID-19 in Iran has risen to 545,286 following the detection of 5,616 new cases since Tuesday.
This is the fourth time in the past week that the disease registers a record high.
Of the new cases detected since yesterday, 2,340 patients have been admitted to the hospital, she added.
Lari said that the respiratory disease also claimed the lives of 312 patients in the 24-hour period, bringing to total fatalities to 31,346.
Among those undergoing treatment in medical centers at present, 4,861 coronavirus patients have critical health conditions because of more severe infection, Lari noted.
She added that at least 438,709 patients have recovered from the coronavirus infection so far or have been discharged from hospitals across Iran.
Close to 4.6 million coronavirus diagnostic tests have so far been carried out in Iran, Lari added.