TEHRAN

The death toll from coronavirus in Iran has climbed to 54 on Sunday, the Health Ministry announced.

Kianush Jahanpur, a ministry official, said that 11 more people lost their lives due to the disease as 385 new cases were reported across the country over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 978.

“Most of the new cases were detected in Tehran, Markazi, Qom, and Ghilan,” Jahanpur said at a press conference.

Pointing to the sharp rise in the number of the cases, he warned that the situation across Iran is serious and advised public not to travel, especially to the infected areas.

Jahanpur added that 75 patients with the COVID-19 were successfully treated and discharged from hospitals across the country.

Iran is one of over 50 countries which account for more than 84,000 coronavirus cases confirmed across the world.

The global death toll reached over 2,980, and China, where the outbreak originated in December, is the worst hit with some 80,000 cases and almost 2,900 fatalities.

The World Health Organization, which already declared the outbreak an international health emergency, updated the global risk level to very high.

* Writing by Sena Guler