7:10 pm: Iran's health ministry confirms 245 coronavirus cases; death toll at 26

Iran's health ministry has confirmed 106 additional cases of the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections up to 245.

Iran's death toll as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak has also been raised to 26, Kianoush Jahanpour, a spokesperson for the Islamic Republic's health ministry, said Thursday.

Iran is at the epicenter of the outbreak in the Middle East, having recorded the highest number of coronavirus fatalities outside China.

Health authorities from Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates have all reported cases of the coronavirus that stemmed from Iran.

Earlier on Thursday, Saudi Arabia announced it would temporarily suspend the entry of foreigners for pilgrimage and tourism purposes. (See 1:57 p.m. update). — Sam Meredith

https://nu.federati.net/url/264420

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Me: I realize that they have a lot of unreported, undiagnosed cases, but Iran's reporting over 10% fatality rate. That's far beyond what anywhere else is reporting.