Iran said on Friday 89 more people have died from the novel coronavirus, as the country’s official fatalities remained in double figures for a fourth day.

Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour told a news conference that the latest deaths brought the overall toll to 4 958.

It was the sixth day that the official fatality rate has dropped in the Middle East"s worst-hit country.

Jahanpour added that 1 499 new infections had been confirmed in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 79 494 from 319 879 tests