Iran tops 10,000 new single-day COVID-19 cases as vaccination campaign unfolds

TEHRAN, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Iran reported 10,330 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking its nationwide caseload to 1,885,564.

The pandemic has so far claimed 62,665 lives in Iran, up by 96 in the past 24 hours, said Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, during her daily briefing.

Of the newly infected, 1,288 were hospitalized, Lari added.

A total of 1,617,333 people have recovered from the disease and been discharged from hospitals, while 3,970 remain in intensive care units, she noted.

Meanwhile, Iran has vaccinated roughly 80 percent of its medical staff dealing with the COVID-19 patients, the official news agency IRNA reported on Wednesday, citing Maryam Hazrati, the country's deputy health minister.

The vaccination campaign has been going on in Iran with such health workers as doctors working at the intensive care units taken as a priority, Hazrati was quoted as saying.

She also warned of a fourth surge of the coronavirus in country triggered by trips and gatherings during the Iranian New Year holidays.

Iran announced its first cases of COVID-19 on Feb. 19, 2020.