Iran says 140 of its health workers have died of the novel coronavirus, with thousands of others infected, as officials urge Iranians to observe health protocols.

“Five thousand of our doctors and nurses have been infected with Covid-19, and tragically, we have lost 140 of them” since the start of the pandemic, health ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said in televised remarks.

“We all owe them our lives and to honour them, we must observe health protocols.”

Iran has been battling a resurgence of the Covid-19 illness, with official figures showing a rise in both new infections and deaths since a two-month low in May.

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