461 more people die from coronavirus: Ministry

Speaking at a daily press conference on Friday, the ministry’s spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said the number COVID-19 cases rose to 738,322 after the detection of 11,737 new ones from Thursday to Friday, according to Tasnim News Agency.

Of the new cases detected over the past 24 hours, 2,967 patients have been admitted to the hospitals, the spokeswoman said.

At least 546,642 patients have recovered from the coronavirus infection so far or have been discharged from hospitals across Iran, she said.

Among those undergoing treatment in medical centers, 5,630 coronavirus patients have critical health conditions because of more severe infection, Lari noted.

The spokeswoman also said more than 5,424,000 coronavirus diagnostic tests have been carried out in Iran so far.

Health Minister Saeid Namaki said on Tuesday Iran plans to more than double the number of coronavirus tests it carries out daily to 100,000.

"Tests have now increased from 25,000 to 40,000 per day and will soon increase to 100,000 with ... rapid tests," said Namaki, quoted by IRNA.

Iran’s government has imposed restrictions as the country battles a third wave of the virus.

Iran is also considering imposing a two-week total lockdown in the capital, state media reported on Friday, according to Reuters.

Iranian media said discussions were underway among government and health officials to impose a two-week total lockdown in Tehran, which could be announced as early as Saturday.

On Tuesday, restaurants and nonessential businesses in Tehran and 30 other cities were ordered to close at 6 p.m. for one month, to keep hospitals from becoming overwhelmed and to slow the worsening outbreak.

The announcement of new limits on Tehran’s bustling cafes and shops, the strictest since a brief nationwide business shutdown in April, reflects the growing sense of urgency among officials.

Iran Daily