TEHRAN- The total number of people diagnosed with the coronavirus in Iran has reached 71,686 of whom 4,474 have died and 43,894 recovered.

Meanwhile, 1,657 new patients have been identified over the past 24 hours, Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said on Sunday.

Over the same period of time, some 117 more people have lost their lives, ISNA reported.

So far, 263,388 diagnostic tests have been performed in the country.

Iran unveiled the first production line of serology-based tests for COVID-19 on Saturday, which is producing 400,000 test kits monthly and is expected to reach up to 2 million.

Serology testing for coronavirus better quantifies the number of infected cases, including those that may be asymptomatic or have recovered. Serology tests are blood-based tests that can be used to identify whether people have been exposed to a particular pathogen by looking at their immune response. 

Besides, Iran has announced social distancing measures in a bid to minimize the spread of coronavirus.

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