Coronavirus: in Iran, 123 dead 20,610 infected, 25,000 cases in Spain.

Iranian authorities announced on Saturday 123 new deaths caused by COVID-19, the official record of the coronavirus epidemic rising to 1,556 deaths in the Islamic state, one of the worst affected countries, along with Italy and China.

According to Iran’s Health Ministry spokesman Kianouche Jahanpour, over 966 new cases of additional contamination have been confirmed in the last 24 hours, with the total confirmed infections reaching 20,610.

According to Jahanpour, “the province of Semnan appears, starting from yesterday (Friday), at the top of the ranking regarding the number of patients in relation to its population, followed by the province of Qom (center), the second place, after which Markazi comes.”

Semnan and Markazi provinces are adjacent to Qom, where the first cases and deaths associated with COVID-19 disease were officially reported on February 19.

In an attempt to curb the spread of the virus, authorities have been calling for more weeks for the population to stop traveling, especially during the free days for Nowruz, the Iranian New Year that ushers in a two-week holiday. During the holiday, Iran’s roads are normally busy and full of people visiting their family members.

Though the Iranian Authorities had urged the nation’s citizens to avoid family visits or days out this year to stem the spread of the coronavirus, footage aired by Iran’s state television showed hundreds of vehicles leaving Tehran on Thursday evening, a proof that the masses ignored the mass stay-home as advised by the authorities. Iran’s deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi nonetheless justified the nation’s reluctance to employ the use of force, as is the case in France and Italy, where police are using force to keep people off the streets.

He explained that checkpoints had been set up around major cities where suspected cases were being tested; those found positive were being asked to go back home for self-quarantine.

On Friday, the Iranian Red Cross expressed regret that about three million people went ahead with the holiday in the 13 provinces most affected by the epidemic.

In speeches broadcast live on public television on the occasion of the start of the Iranian New Year to some 81 million Iranians, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rohani promised that their country would defeat the epidemic.

Twenty-five thousand coronavirus cases in Spain.

The number of cases of infection with the new coronavirus reached 24,926 in Spain, the Ministry of Health of Madrid announced on Saturday.

Of these, 4946 are new cases compared to the previous balance sheet.

At the same time, the number of deaths rose to 1326, with 324 new cases in the last 24 hours.

Spanish authorities also announced that 1612 patients are in intensive care units, with 471 more than on Friday, contributing to the saturation of these services, which almost reached the limit in regions like Madrid, the most affected by the epidemic.

A total of 2125 patients recovered after being infected, this number increasing by 540 compared to Friday, the Spanish authorities said.