Iran: Coronavirus cases surpass 47,500, death toll hits 3,036

The total number of people diagnosed with the coronavirus in Iran has reached 47,593, of whom 3,036 have died, and 15,473 recovered.

Meanwhile, 2,987 new patients identified over the past 24 hours, Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said on Wednesday.

He added that 138 more people have died during the same period, ISNA reported.

Iran has announced social distancing measures in a bid to minimize the spread of coronavirus.

The government has allocated 1,000 trillion rials (about $24 billion at the official rate of 42,000 rials) to help lessen the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the national economy.

CEO of Zarshouran gold mines and mineral industries' development company Mohammad-Reza Siabani, Director General of Roads and Urban Development of Tehran Province Reza Neghaban died as a result of coronavirus infection.

Earlier, member of Iran's Assembly of Experts Ayatollah Seyyed Hashem Bat' haee Golpaygani, the Islamic Republic's former deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Sheikholeslam, former Iranian ambassador to the Vatican Hadi Khosroshahi, newly elected MPs in the 11th parliamentary elections Fatima Rahbar and Mohammad Ali Ramazani and other officials also died of coronavirus.

Iranian MP Zohreh Elahian and Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi, who contracted the coronavirus on March 11, were released after receiving full treatment.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) emerged in late 2019 in China’s Hubei province, and the virus has hit more than 200 countries and territories since then.

To date, COVID-19 cases surpassed 870,000 globally, resulting in more than 43,000 deaths, and over 174, 000 recoveries.

On February 11, the WHO officially named the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) as COVID-19, and on March 11, declared it a pandemic.