COVID-19: Iran records 459 deaths in a day

Iran’s Health Ministry reported on Sunday that the country recorded 459 deaths due to COVID-19 in a day, as the daily infection rate also reached new heights.

There were more than 9,200 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the country’s total since the pandemic began to more than 682,000.
Iran’s death roll has reached 38,291, ministry spokesperson Sima Lari told a state broadcaster.

There could be twice as many cases in the country, however, given the shortage of testing facilities, according to experts.

Presently, 25,000 people are tested each day in Iran, and there are plans to raise testing capacity to 40,000.

However, experts say at least 200,000 tests would need to be carried out daily to obtain accurate case numbers for the populace of more than 82 million.