TEHRAN – The Iranian health minister announced on Sunday that he had “good news” about a Covid-19 vaccine being developed in the country.

Speaking at a press conference in Tehran on Sunday, Saeed Namaki said, “I have good news about the vaccine and I also told the director of international relations (at the ministry) to let the World Health Organization know how far we have gone in the phases of developing the vaccine”.

He added that the news of the breakthrough that Iran has made in making the vaccine will be announced to the world as a major national achievement, according to a Tasnim report.

The minister’s comments came as Iran is tackling with a new wave of Covid-19 cases that has led to another round of lockdowns in the capital Tehran. On Sunday the Health Ministry reported a record-high number of Covid-19 infections.

Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said 251 people have lost their lives due to the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, raising the total number of fatalities to 28,544.

The spokeswoman also announced 3,822 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number to 500,075.

Also on Sunday, two high-ranking government officials, namely Ali Akbar Salehi and Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, tested positive for Covid-19.