<p>The death toll in Iran from the novel coronavirus pandemic has crossed the 30,000 mark, the health ministry announced Saturday.</p>.<p>"Unfortunately, we have lost 253 of our fellow citizens to Covid-19 over the past 24 hours," ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told a daily briefing.</p>.<p>The latest deaths raised the overall toll to 30,123 for the eight months since Iran reported its first virus fatalities.</p>.<p>Tehran and four other major cities were partially sealed off this week until midday Sunday. Most public places in the capital, a city of some nine million people, have been closed since October 3.</p>.<p>The capital's governor announced Saturday that the curbs were to be extended to October 23.</p>.<p>Iran recorded 4,103 new cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the total caseload so far to 526,490, the ministry spokeswoman added.</p>.<p>Deaths and infections from the virus have been on a sharply rising trajectory since early September in Iran, which has been battling the Middle East's deadliest outbreak.</p>
<p>The death toll in Iran from the novel coronavirus pandemic has crossed the 30,000 mark, the health ministry announced Saturday.</p>.<p>"Unfortunately, we have lost 253 of our fellow citizens to Covid-19 over the past 24 hours," ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told a daily briefing.</p>.<p>The latest deaths raised the overall toll to 30,123 for the eight months since Iran reported its first virus fatalities.</p>.<p>Tehran and four other major cities were partially sealed off this week until midday Sunday. Most public places in the capital, a city of some nine million people, have been closed since October 3.</p>.<p>The capital's governor announced Saturday that the curbs were to be extended to October 23.</p>.<p>Iran recorded 4,103 new cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the total caseload so far to 526,490, the ministry spokeswoman added.</p>.<p>Deaths and infections from the virus have been on a sharply rising trajectory since early September in Iran, which has been battling the Middle East's deadliest outbreak.</p>