The death toll in Iran from the outbreak of the new coronavirus has reached 3,603, health ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said in a statement broadcast live on state TV on Sunday.
One hundred and fifty one people have died in the past twenty four hours, he said.
The Islamic Republic, the Middle Eastern country worst-hit by the epidemic, now has a total of 58,226 infections, Jahanpur said.
Iran will ease some social-distancing measures from April 11 and allow "low-risk" business activity to resume, President Hassan Rouhani said, even as the country continues to report a rise in coronavirus cases.
Tehran province, the epicenter of the outbreak in Iran, will be excluded from a plan that involves allowing two-thirds of government employees to return to work, Rouhani said in a coronavirus task-force meeting shown on state TV.
"Ill-wishers and anti-revolutionaries say that people have to choose between their health or economic activities, but this is completely false," Rouhani said, adding that "economic activities, production and health protocols can co-exist."
Iran reported 158 deaths from the virus on Saturday, raising its total fatalities to 3,452 from more than 55,740 positive cases.
