Death toll from pandemic is much higher than figures: Iran's official

Despite the warnings, President Hassan Rouhani said at Sunday's meeting of the national task force to fight COVID-19 that he has brought forward the date for the reopening of religious sites and shrines.

E'rafi is an influential figure appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to oversee the religious schools in Qom, where the outbreak is said to have started as early as in January.

Thousands of people visit holy sites and shrines in Qom, Mashhad, Shiraz, and elsewhere, including clerical circles and businesses in those cities benefit from pilgrims.

Rouhani did not explain whether he has also sought the views of medical experts and local authorities on the early reopening of those busy sites where frequent visits and large gatherings in small spaces make a further spread of the disease highly likely.

Tehran City Council Chairman Mohsen Hashemi said the number of those infected with the new coronavirus in Iran is "much higher" than the official figures released by the government, Report says, citing Mehr.

He expressed concern over the easing of measures to combat the COVID-19 virus, based on official statistics.

Meanwhile, stressing that the "actual numbers are several times higher than what is being announced by the government," Hashemi warned that the haste in lifting lockdown restrictions could lead to a new wave of infections.

As of today, the Iranian government has relaxed measures to combat the coronavirus in the country and lifted restrictions on long-distance passenger traffic and the activities of some workplaces.