Iran Virus Infections Exceed 360,000

Iran’s caseload from Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, surpassed 360,000 on Monday, health officials said.
“The Health Ministry logged another 2,245 confirmed cases of the viral infection, which took the national tally to over 361,000,” the ministry’s spokeswoman, Sima Sadat Lari, was quoted as saying by ISNA.
The death toll rose to 20,776 on Monday after the country added 133 overnight fatalities to yesterday’s numbers, Lari said.
The spokeswoman added, “So far, 311,000 have recovered from the respiratory illness and 3,848 are in critical condition.”
Iran has administered 3.06 million coronavirus tests since the start of the pandemic six months ago.
According to the health official, adherence to the mandatory facemask wearing order has dropped to 60% among the general public and to nearly 64% in public spaces.
Despite the recent decline, public compliance with health regulation is already showing results. 
Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi said, “After the second wave of infections, we managed to reduce the death rate by 45% and hospitalizations by 40% through abidance with health protocols.”
The official warned against the normalization of the deadly outbreak and urged people to refrain from traveling during the upcoming holidays. 
“Average cases and deaths are still higher than the peak of the first wave in early April,” Harirchi said. 
“The start of a third wave and the containment of the second wave depend fully on public social behavior.”
Worldwide, Covid-19 cases surged to 23.6 million on Monday, as fatalities went past 814,000.