Iran's Daily Covid Death Toll Dips to Double Digits

The number of overnight deaths in Iran came down from triple-digit figures after 200 days, with the Health Ministry reporting 98 fatalities on Tuesday. 
Health Minister Saeed Namaki announced 98 patients died from the novel coronavirus within a 24-hour period, an all-time low since June 13 when 87 lives were claimed by Covid-19, IRNA reported.
“The daily deaths reported on Tuesday took the national toll to 55,748,” the spokeswoman of Health Ministry, Sima Sadat Lari, said.
Some 6,113 tested positive for Covid-19, pushing the total number of cases past 1.255 million, the health official said.
Over the past 10 days, 252 were infected by the deadly virus and six died every hour, data collected by the Health Ministry showed. On average, 390 recovered from the contagion every hour.
Lari said, “Adherence to health protocols and social distancing across the country has reached 86%.”
The spokeswoman attributed the recent decline in cases, hospitalizations and deaths to the public’s increased observance of safety measures.
The third wave of infections has subsided in all parts of the country, except the northern province of Mazandaran where four cities are on red alert.

Mutated Corona Variant Detected in Iran 

Iran recorded its first case of the new coronavirus variant identified in the United Kingdom on Tuesday, but said the patient has self-isolated and the virus has not been transmitted to those in contact with them.
“The first case of the mutated virus was identified in an Iranian who returned from England and he is in good health conditions,” Namaki announced.
According to British officials, the new variant can be 75% more contagious. The UK is currently under lockdown to stem the spread of the mutated coronavirus.
“We have tested some 240 who had been in contact with the patient, and none carried the mutated virus. This announcement is not a cause for panic; it only means that health protocols should be strictly followed,” he said.
Namaki noted that the ministry will inform the public, if any other case of the new variant is detected in the future.
“More than 1.02 million have recovered from the respiratory illness and 4,800 are in serious condition,” Lari said.
“Iran has administered over 7.88 million PCR tests since it spotted the deadly virus in the country.”
Covid-19 has infected 86.1 million globally and killed some 1.86 million of them.