Daily Covid Cases Surge Past 5,600

Iran’s tally of overnight Covid-19 cases hit an all-time high of 5,600 on Wednesday, breaking the previous day’s record by 11%, according to data compiled by the Health Ministry. 
“The addition of 5,616 freshly identified patients took the national total to 545,280,” the Health Ministry’s Spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari was quoted as saying by ISNA.
“Within a 24-hour period, 312 Covid-19 patients lost their lives and the total number of deaths rose to 31,346.”
The spokesman urged the public to refrain from non-essential travel during the upcoming holidays amid a third wave of infections that has challenged Iran’s healthcare system.
Deputy Health Minister Qasem Janbabaei told a press conference that coronavirus patients have easier access to hospital beds this week, compared to a week earlier, and added, “By the end of the year, 11,000 hospital beds will be added to the country’s health system.”
Janbabaei encouraged Covid-19 patients to visit a hospital, if they display severe symptoms. 
“A majority of patients recover with adequate treatment, but they need to receive the treatment on time,” he said.
According to the official, patients are more critically ill now compared to spring and summer during the first and second waves of virus infections.
Health Minister Saeed Namaki also reassured the public they are using every resource available to take care of critically-ill patients.
“The people of Iran should not fear a shortage of hospital beds and they should be always given hope,” he said.
Lari said some 4,860 patients across the country are in critical condition and 439,000 have recovered from the infections disease. 
Iran has administered nearly 4.6 million PCR tests to diagnose Covid-19. 
The number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus worldwide jumped to 41.13 million on Wednesday, as the death toll rose past 1.13 million.