Iran coronavirus death toll rises to over 3,000

1 Apr, 2020 10:23 / Updated 4 years ago

A total of 3,036 coronavirus patients have died in Iran, with 138 deaths in the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry reported on Wednesday.

The ministry’s spokesman, Kianush Jahanpur, said the country now has a total of 47,593 people infected, with 2,987 new cases in the past 24 hours, while 15,473 people have recovered.

Speaking on Wednesday in a televised cabinet meeting, President Hassan Rouhani said that the coronavirus crisis is “a great opportunity for Americans to apologize... and to lift the unjust and unfair sanctions on Iran.”

One of the worst hit countries in the region, Iran has urged the international community to lift sanctions to help it better deal with the crisis, and is seeking a $5bn loan from the International Monetary Fund.

These latest Iranian figures now bring the total number of cases globally to 873,767, with 43,288 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University Tracker.

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