Iran reports 111 virus deaths, raising total to 4,585

• Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 1,617 new infections took the total number of cases in the country's outbreak to 73,303, of whom 45,983 had recovered.
• Iran announced its first COVID-19 cases on February 19, when it said two people died of the disease in the holy Shiite city of Qom.

TEHRAN: Iran's health ministry on Monday reported another 111 deaths from the novel coronavirus, taking the official overall toll in the worst-hit Middle East country to 4,585.

Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 1,617 new infections took the total number of cases in the country's outbreak to 73,303, of whom 45,983 had recovered.

"The trend of relatively stable and decreasing new cases of contamination, which has been observed in recent days, has also continued over the past 24 hours," he told a televised news conference.

"People must always continue to avoid unnecessary travel," he said, in order to stop the spread of the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease.

Iran announced its first COVID-19 cases on February 19, when it said two people died of the disease in the holy Shiite city of Qom.

But there has been speculation abroad that the real toll of the disease in the Islamic republic could be higher.