Iranian health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said the Covid-19 illness had claimed a further 51 lives over 24 hours, according to AFP.

The ministry raised the overall death toll to 6,988 since Iran announced its first fatalities in the city of Qom in February.

Jahanpour warned that cases were rising “in the province of Lorestan, and to some extent in Kermanshah, Sistan and Baluchistan”.

“Khuzestan province is still in a critical situation,” he added.