Sima Sadat Lari said at a daily press conference that 337 coronavirus patients have died across the country since Sunday, the highest single-day toll since the viral disease broke out in February.

She put the total death toll from COVID-19 in Iran at 30,712.

The spokeswoman also noted that the total number of people tested positive for COVID-19 in the country has reached 534,631 after the detection of 4,251 new cases since yesterday.

More than 431,000 patients have recovered from the coronavirus infection so far or have been discharged from hospitals across Iran, the spokeswoman said.

Among those undergoing treatment in medical centers at present, 4,771 coronavirus patients have critical health conditions because of more severe infection, Lari noted.

According to Lari, nearly 4,540,000 coronavirus diagnostic tests have been carried out in Iran so far.

The number of people infected with COVID-19 across the world has surpassed 40.3 million and the death toll has exceeded 1,110,000.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet session on Wednesday, Saeed Namaki said President Hassan Rouhani has accepted his proposal for travel restrictions during the upcoming three-day holidays.

The travel bans would be imposed in five cities with the highest rate of infection, namely Tehran, Karaj, Mashhad, Isfahan and Orumiyeh, he added.

The health minister expressed hope that the restrictions would help curb the pandemic.

This week, the two-day weekend in Iran is followed by a holiday marking the martyrdom anniversary of the eighth Shiite imam, Imam Reza (AS).

While the authorities have warned people to stay home and abide by social distancing protocols to tackle the pandemic, many people plan to go on vacation on the weekend and national holidays.

The total number of people tested positive for COVID-19 infection in Iran has surpassed 510,000 and the death toll has exceeded 29,000.

Nearly all provinces of Iran have been declared as red zones -regions with high risk of contagion.

The World Health Organization said there were more than 700,000 new COVID-19 cases reported in Europe last week, a jump of 34% compared to the previous week, with Britain, France, Russia and Spain accounting for more than half of new infections recorded in the region, AP reported.

The increasing case numbers in Europe are partly the result of more testing, but the UN health agency noted that deaths were also up 16% in the region last week compared to the previous week. Doctors are also warning that while many new cases currently affect younger people, who tend to have milder symptoms, the median age could rise again, resulting in more serious illnesses in elderly populations.

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte ordered bans on pickup sports games among friends and parties in closed spaces. Private gatherings at homes with more than six people who don’t live together are also discouraged.

Like other European countries, Italy is also limiting nightlife, with bars and restaurants having to close at midnight, and drinking while standing at a bar banned after 9 p.m.

Italy made wearing masks mandatory outdoors last week, a requirement already in place in Spain, Turkey, India and a handful of other Asian countries. Elsewhere in Europe, such mandates are in effect in hot spot cities like Paris, Brussels and Pristina, Kosovo, and are being introduced in several German cities.

Even with virus infections rising again, governments are eager to avoid the total lockdowns they imposed back then that caused huge economic damage and job losses. Wary of hurting already fragile economies, European governments have instead relied on a patchwork of regional restrictions that have sometimes caused confusion and frustration by those affected.

Still, the UN health agency cautioned Tuesday against a one-size-fits-all mindset when it comes to restrictive measures. WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told reporters in Geneva that lockdowns should be a “last resort.”

Chancellor Angela Merkel has summoned the governors of Germany’s 16 states to meet in person Wednesday for the first time since mid-June. Bavarian governor Markus Soeder called for “a really clear set of rules for everyone in the coming weeks” to prevent the situation spinning out of control.

In an effort to avoid to keep people and goods moving throughout the European Union, member countries approved a traffic light system Tuesday.

The countries agreed to not restrict people traveling between so-called green areas — where virus infection numbers are low — but EU governments will continue to set their own restrictions, such as quarantines or mandatory testing upon arrival, for people coming from orange or red zones.

Under the criteria adopted Tuesday, most of EU regions would be either red or orange.

Speaking at a daily press conference on Saturday, Sima Sadat Lari said the total number of people tested positive for COVID-19 in Iran has risen to 496,253 following the detection of 3,875 new cases since Friday.

Among those undergoing treatment in medical centers at present, 4,439 coronavirus patients have critical health conditions because of more severe infection, she noted.

She further put the death toll from COVID-19 in Iran at 28,293, saying the disease has taken the lives of 195 patients over the past 24 hours.

Nearly 404,000 patients have recovered from the coronavirus infection so far or have been discharged from hospitals across Iran, the spokeswoman said.

The number of people infected with COVID-19 across the world has surpassed 37 million and the death toll has exceeded 1,070,000.

Speaking at a daily press conference, Health Ministry’s Spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said 239 coronavirus patients have died across the country over the past 24 hours, the highest single-day toll since the viral disease broke out in February.

She put the total death toll from COVID-19 in Iran at 27,658.

The spokeswoman also noted that the total number of people tested positive for COVID-19 in the country has risen to 483,844 following the detection of 4,019 new cases since yesterday.

More than 397,000 patients have recovered from the coronavirus infection so far or have been discharged from hospitals across Iran, the spokeswoman said.

Among those undergoing treatment in medical centers at present, 4,274 coronavirus patients have critical health conditions because of more severe infection, Lari noted.

The number of people infected with COVID-19 across the world has surpassed 36 million and the death toll has exceeded 1,050,000.

Speaking at a daily press conference on Tuesday, Sima Sadat Lari said the total number of people tested positive for coronavirus in Iran has risen to 479,825 after the detection of 4,151 new cases since Monday.

Of the new cases detected since yesterday, 2,127 patients have been admitted to the hospital, she added.

Among those undergoing treatment in medical centers at present, 4,200 coronavirus patients have critical health conditions because of more severe infection, Lari noted.

She further put the death toll from COVID-19 in Iran at 27,419, saying the disease has taken the lives of 227 patients over the past 24 hours.

At least 394,800 patients have recovered from the coronavirus infection so far or have been discharged from hospitals across Iran, the spokeswoman said.

Lari also noted that nearly 4,180,000 coronavirus diagnostic tests have been carried out in Iran so far.

The number of people infected with COVID-19 across the world has surpassed 35 million and the death toll has exceeded 1,050,000.

A recent study at Yale University found that rhinovirus – the most frequent cause of a cold – could jump-start the body’s antiviral defences, providing protection against the flu.

They discovered that the presence of rhinovirus triggered production of the antiviral agent interferon, which is part of the early immune system response to the invasion of pathogens, Sky News reported.

The researchers are now looking at whether introduction of the cold virus before infection by COVID-19 offers a similar type of protection.

Dr Ellen Foxman, of the Yale School of Medicine, said: “The common cold virus triggers the normal antiviral defences of these cells that form the lining of the airway.

“So the cells that form the lining of the airway is where all these viruses need to go to grow.

“That includes flu, common cold, COVID-19 – basically all the viruses that you get by breathing them in, they all grow in this tissue that forms the lining of your airway.”

She added: “This response, the interferon response, which is this general defence mechanism against all viruses, we know that response does work against COVID-19.

“If you do the experiment in a lab, you can apply this chemical – interferon – to cells, then you can block the virus that causes COVID-19 as well.

“So it’s possible that we’ll see the same thing, but we’re just beginning to do the experiments.

“Sometimes you see unexpected things happening so you have to just do the experiment and see what the result is and that that’s just a work in progress at the moment.”

Dr Foxman said she thought interferon-based immunity lasted about a week, maybe up to two, adding that it did not prevent infection forever.

But she explained it may provide a “temporary buffer against getting another virus” while the body is all “revved up” to fight it.

However, the expert said while she was sure this could be applied to flu, COVID-19 is unpredictable.

“One unpredictable thing is the entry receptor that COVID-19 uses to get inside your body – there have been some reports that can be increased by interferon.

“So, we just have to test how important is that, compared to having these antiviral defences at the ready, ” Dr Foxman explained.

She said that catching the virus early was key as it is a very short-term defence and contact tracing was a good way to do this.

It could also make people more inclined to participate in contact tracing, if they knew there was an early intervention available, Dr Foxman continued.

However, she stressed that this was all speculation and that the studies still needed to be conducted.

Speaking at a daily press conference on Sunday, Health Ministry’s Spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari put the death toll from the novel coronavirus in Iran at 26,957, saying the disease has taken the lives of 211 patients over the past 24 hours.

She also noted that at least 389,966 patients have recovered from the coronavirus infection so far or have been discharged from hospitals across the country.

The number of people tested positive for COVID-19 infection in Iran has risen to 471,772 following the detection of 3,653 new cases since Saturday noon, the spokeswoman added.

Among those undergoing treatment in medical centers at present, 4,154 patients have critical health conditions because of more severe infection, Lari noted.

She went on to say that more than 4,123,000 coronavirus diagnostic tests have been carried out in Iran so far.

The number of people infected with COVID-19 across the world has surpassed 35 million and the death toll has exceeded 1,030,000.