TEHRAN – Over 63 health workers have lost their lives in the fight against the coronavirus so far, Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said on Saturday.

Medical staff who died of coronavirus outbreak are called ‘martyrs of health’ in Iran.

Jahanpour added that the number of martyrs of health is even more than the announced figure as some of these staff did not have direct exposure to COVID-19 patients, and their names may not be on the final list, IRNA news agency reported.

The total number of people diagnosed with the coronavirus in Iran reached 80,868 on Saturday, of whom 5,031 have died and 55,987 recovered.

Meanwhile, 1,374 new patients have been identified over the past 24 hours, Jahanpour said.

He added that 73 more people have died during the same period of time, IRNA reported.

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