Iran on Tuesday reported 54 new deaths from the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, the highest single-day toll since the start of the country's outbreak, AFP reports.

The latest deaths bring the number of those killed by the virus in the Islamic republic to 291, the health ministry's spokesman, Kianoush Jahanpour, said in a televised conference.

He added that 881 new cases had been confirmed, bringing the total number of people infected to an official 8,042.

But “2,731 people, which is about 10 times the number of dear countrymen we've lost, have recovered and been discharged from hospitals,” Jahanpour said.

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