'One Iranian dies of coronavirus every 10 minutes, 50 get infected every hour'

The death toll in the Middle East worst-affected country climbed to 1,284, say Iranian health officials

DUBAI: The new coronavirus kills one person every 10 minutes in Iran, the health ministry spokesperson tweeted on Thursday, as the death toll in the Middle East worst-affected country climbed to 1,284.

"Based on our information, every 10 minutes one person dies from the coronavirus and some 50 people become infected with the virus every hour in Iran," Kianush Jahanpur tweeted.

مطابق آخرین داده ها، تقریبا هر ساعت، ۵۰ نفر در ایران به #کووید_۱۹ مبتلا می شوند و ایضا هر ده دقیقه، یکنفر جان خود را در اثر پیامدهای ناشی از ابتلا به #کرونا از دست می دهد.

با لحاظ این اطلاعات در مورد سفر، تردد، جابجایی و دید و بازدید نوروزی و ... آگاهانه تصمیم بگیرید ...

— Kianush Jahanpur, MD 🇮🇷 (@drjahanpur) March 19, 2020

COVID-19: Death toll in Iran climbs to 1,284

As part of its efforts to contain the virus, Tehran has taken several measures, including the closure of all schools and higher education institutions, calling off sports events and banning government officials from leaving the country.

Since first being detected in Wuhan, China in December, the novel coronavirus has claimed more than 8,900 lives globally, according to global data maintained by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).