Death toll from coronavirus climbs to 514 in Iran

The death toll from the novel coronavirus outbreak in Iran rose to 514, state TV reported on Friday.

Authorities said 85 people had died in the last 24 hours, while 1,289 new cases emerged, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 11,364, Iran's state TV quoted Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour as saying.

A total of 3,529 people have been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the virus, Jahanpour added.

Most of the new cases, he added, were in the provinces of Tehran, Qom, Gilan, Isfahan and Mazandaran.

Turkey, which has only two confirmed cases of coronavirus, closed its land borders and suspended air travel to Iran last month.

Besides China, Italy and South Korea, Iran is among the worst-affected countries since the outbreak of the disease last December.

As part of its efforts to contain the virus, Tehran has taken several measures including the closure of all schools and higher learning institutions, calling off sports events and banning government officials from leaving the country.

After emerging in China last December, the novel coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, has spread to 123 countries and territories.

The global death toll is now around 4,950, with more than 132,500 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which has declared the outbreak a global pandemic.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz