TEHRAN: Iran's Health Ministry recorded 2,294 new Covid-19 coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, raising the country's total to 122,492.
Meanwhile, ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said the virus death toll had risen to 7,057, with 69 fatalities in the past day.
Experts both at home and abroad have voiced scepticism about Iran's official figures, saying the real toll could be much higher.
Jahanpour said the situation is becoming critical in the provinces of Lorestan, North Khorasan, Kerman, Sistan and Baluchistan, and Kermanshah.
Khuzestan, which is still in the high-risk category, accounted for about a quarter of the new cases detected in the past 24 hours, he added.
The southwestern province has become Iran's new coronavirus hotspot and is the only region so far where authorities have reimposed business lockdowns after a country-wide relaxation in April. - AFP