TEHRAN – One fifth of the daily deaths in the country are related to coronavirus, which is alarming and worrisome, deputy minister of health has said.

About 1,050 people die every day in the country, more than 200 of whom are among COVID-19 patients, IRNA quoted Iraj Harirchi as saying on Tuesday.

Health Minister Saeed Namaki said on June 22 that about 87 percent of those who have lost their lives due to COVID-19 in Iran had been diagnosed with obesity and underlying illnesses.

Referring to fatalities associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, he said that obesity was one of the pre-existing diseases associated with coronavirus deaths, especially patients younger than 50.

Mohammad Reza Shanehsaz, head of the Food and Drug Administration, said in May that the nation needs to prepare for a 'second and third wave' of coronavirus in October and November until a vaccine is developed.

The number of people diagnosed with coronavirus in Iran reached 262,173 on Tuesday, of whom 13,211 have died and 225,270 recovered so far. Over the past 24 hours, 2,521 new cases of people having the virus have been identified, and 179 died, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said.

Currently, 3,389 patients with coronavirus are in critical condition, she added.

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