TEHRAN, Oct. 22 (MNA) – The daily count of coronavirus infections in Iran reached 5,471 on Thursday, bringing the total cases to 550,757, according to the Health Ministry.

The coronavirus outbreak has been worsening in Iran, as the number of infections, hospitalizations and fatalities due to the respiratory disease has been increasing in the past days.

Speaking at a daily press conference on Thursday, Iran’s Health Ministry Spokesperson Sima Lari said the total number of people tested positive for COVID-19 in Iran has risen to 550,757 following the detection of 5,471 new cases since Wednesday.

Of the new cases detected since yesterday, 2,242 patients have been admitted to the hospital, Lari added.

She noted that the pandemic has claimed 304 lives in 24 hours while the total death toll stands at 31,650.

According to the Health Ministry Spokesperson, 442,674 people have recovered from the disease, adding that 4,628,866 tests have been carried out to detect the disease across the country.

Among those undergoing treatment in medical centers at present, 4,895 coronavirus patients have critical health conditions because of more severe infection, she said.

 According to Worldometer figures on Thursday, 41,494,819 people around the world have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, 1,136,463 have died, and more than 30,917,487 people have recovered.

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