Iran today recorded 835 new nCoV infections, bringing the total number of patients to 2,336, surpassing Italy to become the third largest outbreak in the world.

In a live broadcast on state television today, Iranian Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi said the total number of nCoV infections in the country had increased from more than 1,500 to 2,336. Iran also recorded 11 more deaths, bringing the number of deaths from Covid-19 to 77.

With this new data, Iran became the world's third-largest Covid-19 outbreak after mainland China and South Korea, surpassing Italy, which currently records more than 2,000 cases. Iran is also the country with the second highest number of deaths due to nCoV after China.

Experts are concerned that the actual number of cases in Iran is much higher than published, and doubt the country's anti-epidemic capacity. Many senior Iranian officials have been confirmed positive for nCoV, including Vice President Masoumeh Ebtekar and Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi, head of the government's anti-Covid-19 task force. Iran's state broadcaster quoted a congressman as saying 23 members of parliament were infected with Covid-19.

Mohammad Mirmohammadi, 71, a member of the advisory board for the Iranian leader, also died yesterday of a viral infection.

Supreme Leader Aytollah Ali Khamenei today called on people to follow recommendations from health authorities to prevent nCoV. He also asked government agencies to give full support to the Ministry of Health and said officials would respond to the spread of the virus in a transparent manner.

"Don't violate the recommendations and instructions of the authorities responsible for preventing viruses, keeping your hands, face and living environment clean," he said.

The Iranian authorities on 26 February imposed restrictions on traveling with or suspected nCoV-infected people, closing schools and suspending prayers every Friday. However, many large Shiite temples remain open despite official appeals.

The Middle East region currently records more than 2,530 nCoV infections, mostly related to Iran. The British embassy in Tehran began evacuating non-essential diplomats to avoid Covid-19. Several countries, including China, also arrange flights to evacuate citizens from Iran due to an increasingly serious disease.

Covid-19 has appeared in 77 countries and territories around the world, with more than 92,000 cases of infection, more than 3,100 deaths and nearly 48,300 people recover.