TEHRAN — Government spokesperson Ali Rabiei will be holding his next presser via video conference, Mehr reported.

The press conference is scheduled to be held on Monday.

The decision was made because of the rise in the number of infected cases in Iran.

Also, Rabiei’s previous press conference, which was jointly held by Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi, sparked criticism after Harirchi was tested positive for coronavirus.

As of Saturday, the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in Iran had risen to 43. Also, the Health Ministry announced that citizens diagnosed with the virus has jumped from 338 in Friday to 593 by Saturday.

The Health Ministry has previously urged people to stay at home, restrict traffic, reduce interactions, avoid unnecessary travel, cancel any nationwide gatherings, and observe individual health tips to control the virus, also known as COVID-19.

Upon the advice of the Health Ministry, the Friday prayers in Tehran and 22 other provinces were also canceled to counter the spread of coronavirus. 

The Health Ministry also placed restrictions on access to the Hazrat Masumeh shrine in Qom, where the coronavirus in Iran first emerged, and the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad.

MH/PA