Iran’s coronavirus death toll exceeds 40,000: health ministry

FILE PHOTO: Iranian People wearing protective masks as they walk at a store, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tehran, Iran November 11, 2020. Picture taken November 11, 2020. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s death toll from the coronavirus rose by 457 to 40,121 on Thursday, the highest in the Middle East, with the total number of identified cases reaching 726,585, health ministry data showed.

Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state TV that Iran had identified 11,517 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.

(This story refiles to fix typo in paragraph two)

Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Gareth Jones

source: reuters.com