Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei has been hospitalized with COVID-19, the Mehr news agency reported on Monday, the latest among several officials to have been infected with the new coronavirus.
Iran has the Middle East’s highest number of recorded COVID-19 cases, and infections and deaths have risen sharply since restrictions on movement began to be eased in mid-April.
There have been 293,606 cases, and 255,144 recoveries in the Islamic Republic, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari announced on state TV on Monday.
The latest daily death toll of 212 brings the total number of deaths to 15,912.
A vice president, member of the Expediency Council, and several parliamentarians are among those officials who have been infected with the coronavirus.