Both the fatalities and the new cases were much lower compared to figures from eight months ago, when tens of thousands of cases were detected by the day and the deaths were in their hundreds.
The deaths brought the total fatalities from COVID-19 in Iran to 140,829. And the caseload was raised to 7,206,959 people. Out of the new cases, some 257 people had to be put in hospital care.
Iran, which has produced several vaccines against the disease caused by the coronavirus, has administered a total of 148,289,629 doses, and almost 26,751,000 people have received three jabs so far — a monumental achievement brought about by a national campaign of mobilization.
Only in the past 24 hours, 71,643 doses of COVID vaccines were administered in the country.
Nevertheless, 55 cities remain in the red-alert status, which means they are the most exposed to the virus because of high local caseloads.
Alireza Naji, the director of the Virology Research Center at Tehran-based Shahid Beheshti University, says the current low trend in the cases provides the best opportunity for people to visit vaccination centers to get their shots, including boosters.
A third dose is recommended for the majority of the people, while a rare fourth one is recommended to people with special diseases.
