TEHRAN, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Iran reported on Tuesday 13,352 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections in the country to 788,473.
Of the newly infected in the past 24 hours, 3,079 required hospitalization, said Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, during her daily briefing, according to the ministry's website.
The epidemic has by now claimed 42,461 lives in Iran, she noted, after the overnight registration of 482 deaths related to the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, 570,774 COVID-19 patients have so far recovered or been released from hospitals, with 5,691 still in critical condition in intensive care units, Lari said.
As of Tuesday, 5,586,141 laboratory tests for coronavirus have been carried out in Iran, according to the spokeswoman.
The risk of infection remains high in 27 out of 31 Iranian provinces.
During the last few days, Iranian authorities have announced a succession of nationwide anti-virus measures such as hourly curfews, restrictions on traffic and business activities, and an increase in COVID-19 testing, in an attempt to tackle the surge in the epidemic.
