In Iran, 12 groups are making efforts to develop coronavirus vaccine, three of which have passed the animal testing, Iraj Harirchi, the deputy minister of health, has announced.

“Currently, some 25,000 diagnostic tests are performed daily, which is expected to reach 100,000” he stated, IRIB reported on Tuesday.

Harirchi added that 30 percent of COVID-19 cases in the country are caused by small gatherings and celebrations.

Last week, Health Minister Saeed Namaki expressed hope that the country will introduce the home-grown COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 19, 2021).

Due to the high prevalence of the disease, the National Headquarters for Coronavirus Control has approved to impose strict restrictions for 10 days as of Wednesday in 46 cities that have the highest rate of COVID-19 infection in the country.

Officials at the Medical Council have written a letter to President Hassan Rouhani that the deplorable condition of the pandemic in the country, and rising number of mortalities and new cases, requires a more serious review of the management methods of this crisis.

COVID-19 cases at a record high

In a press briefing on Tuesday, Health Ministry spokesperson Sima-Sadat Lari confirmed 8,932 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total number of infections to 637,712. She added that 495,473 patients have so far recovered, but 5,378 still remain in critical conditions of the disease.

During the past 24 hours, coronavirus daily deaths and new cases hit the record high, as 422 patients have lost their lives, bringing the total number of deaths to 36,160, she added.

Lari noted that so far 5,036,633 COVID-19 tests have been conducted across the country.

She said the high-risk “red” zones include provinces of Tehran, Isfahan, Qom, East Azarbaijan, South Khorasan, Semnan, Qazvin, Lorestan, Ardebil, Khuzestan, Kermanshah, Kohgiluyeh-Boyerahmad, Gilan, Bushehr, Zanjan, Ilam, Khorasan Razavi, Mazandaran, Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari, Alborz, West Azarbaijan, Markazi, Kerman, North Khorasan, Hamedan, Yazd, and Kordestan.

The provinces of Hormozgan, Fars, and Golestan and Sistan-Baluchestan are also on alert. T.T/