Iran is grappling with its most severe surge of the coronavirus to date, with its latest number of new infections and deaths higher than any other single day since the pandemic began.
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Health authorities logged over 39,600 new cases and 542 deaths from the virus on Sunday. The fatality count shatters the previous record during the outbreak that gripped the country last November.
The new all-time highs push Iran's total number of infections over 4.1 million and death toll over 94,000 - the highest in the Middle East.
The crush of new cases, fuelled by the fast-spreading delta variant, have overwhelmed hospitals with patients too numerous to handle. The country has never seen so many COVID-19 patients in critical condition, with 6,462 more severe cases reported Sunday.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, last week ordered officials to discuss the possibility of a total national shutdown. The government has been loath to enforce such a lockdown, fearing the damage it would do to an economy reeling from years of American sanctions.
Iran's sputtering vaccination campaign hasn't helped matters. Only 3.3 per cent of the total population of some 80 million has been fully vaccinated, according to data compiled from government sources by the Our World in Data project at the University of Oxford.
Australian Associated Press
