Iran announces 43 new coronavirus deaths, raising toll to 237

Number of infected in Islamic Republic hits 7,167; Saudi Arabia closes land borders, and air and sea travel to Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Italy, Kuwait, Lebanon, South Korea, Syria, UAE

By Agencies 9 March 2020, 2:11 pm
An Iranian woman wears a protective mask in the capital Tehran on March 4, 2020 (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Iran on Monday reported 43 new deaths from the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall toll to 237 dead.

“In the past 24 hours, 595 new cases infected with coronavirus were identified in the country and the overall number of those infected rose to 7,167,” Alireza Vahabzadeh, an adviser to the health minister, said in a tweet.

“So far, 2,394 of the confirmed cases have recovered,” he added.

The health ministry on Sunday reported 49 new deaths from the virus, the highest toll within 24 hours since the start of the outbreak in the Islamic Republic. However, experts worry Iran may be underreporting its cases.

A man disinfects the shrine of the Shiite Saint Imam Abdulazim to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus in Shahr-e-Ray, south of Tehran, Iran, March, 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

In the Mideast, there have been over 7,600 confirmed cases of the virus and on Monday, Saudi Arabia closed off its land borders, and air and sea travel to Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Italy, Kuwait, Lebanon, South Korea, Syria and the United Arab Emirates over concerns.

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