COVID-19 outbreak claims 107 lives in Iran: ministry
Xinhua
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Iranian fire fighters and municipality workers disinfect a street in the capital Tehran for corona virus COVID-19 on March 5, 2020. (Photo: AFP)

TEHRAN, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The outbreak of novel coronavirus in Iran has killed 107 people, a statement by Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education said on Thursday.

It said the total number of affected cases is 3,513 in Iran, out of whom 739 people have been recovered.

A total of 1,352 cases of infection are from the capital Tehran. The central city of Qom reported 386 cases, the northern Rasht city 333, and Isfahan 180.

Kianush Jahanpur, head of Public Relations and Information Center of Ministry of Health and Medical Education, also said that the number of laboratories for testing the viral infection across the country has increased to 25 and it will increase to 40 centers in the next week, official IRNA news agency reported.

Jahanpur advised people to stay in their houses in the next weeks to hopefully witness the downward trend of infection in the country.

Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education on Thursday announced the launch of a national plan to combat the novel coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Iran announced the first cases of viral infection in the central Qom city on Feb. 19.