TEHRAN – Approximately 100,000 passengers have so far been tested for coronavirus at the country's official borders, head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society said on Sunday.

Since March 10, some 18,151 rapid tests and 6,462 PCR tests have been done and 35 individuals have been temporarily quarantined, IRNA quoted Karim Hemmati as saying.

With the cooperation of ministries of health and transport, a plan was implemented with the goal of rapidly identifying and testing incoming passengers and keeping them in quarantine facilities, if necessary.

Thirty border checkpoints have been selected, including 18 land borders, nine air borders, and three sea borders, all incoming passengers will be tested and referred to the quarantine facilities in case of necessity.

Some 5,000 members of the IRCS cooperate for carrying out the plan; while around 8,000 individuals enter the country via borders on a daily basis, Hemmati said on March 26.

New cases and mortalities

In a press briefing on Sunday, Health Ministry’s spokesperson Sima-Sadat Lari confirmed 11,680 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total number of infections to 1,932,074. She added that 1,650,569 patients have so far recovered, but 4,057 remain in critical conditions of the disease.

During the past 24 hours, 161 patients have lost their lives, bringing the total number of deaths to 63,160, she added.

So far, 13,111,118 COVID-19 diagnostic tests have been performed in the country.

FB/MG