TEHRAN (Iran News) – Schools in Iran are preparing to begin the new year as new infections and deaths from the coronavirus have dwindled in recent weeks.

On Wednesday, the Health Ministry reported 1,858 new coronavirus cases from Tuesday to Wednesday, bringing the total number of the infections to 378,752.

The Education Ministry on Tuesday announced plans for reopening of schools across Iran, which is the worst-hit country in the West Asia.

“Excluding regions with high numbers of COVID-19 cases, all schools will start education with in-person attendance in the new school year on September 5,” Iranian Education Minister Mohsen Haji-Mirzaei said.

He stressed that classes in high-risk regions will be held online.

Health Ministry’s spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari put the death toll from coronavirus in Iran at 21,797, saying the disease took the lives of 125 patients from Tuesday to Wednesday, according to IRNA.

Of the new cases detected since Wednesday, 1,136 patients have been admitted to the hospital, she added.

Among those undergoing treatment in medical centers at present, 3,693 coronavirus patients have critical health conditions because of more severe infection, Lari noted.

She said that at least 326,800 patients have recovered from the coronavirus infection so far or have been discharged from hospitals.

Iran has been battling to contain the novel coronavirus outbreak since announcing its first cases on February 19.

Authorities have made wearing masks mandatory in enclosed spaces and reimposed restrictions lifted gradually since April.

While working on production of a vaccine for the disease, Iran is seeking to buy vaccines so far developed by other countries against the coronavirus.

On Sunday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered the Health Ministry to make all the arrangements necessary for the purchase of vaccines developed by other countries, according to Tasnim News Agency.

The vaccines should be procured soon and undergo all the tests and trials inside Iran as the country is facing the second wave of the COVID-19 crisis, he added.

Russia said on August 11 that it had developed the world’s first vaccine offering “sustainable immunity” against COVID-19 and was in the final stage of human trials.