The Health Ministry registered 191 mortalities from the Covid-19 outbreak on Saturday, the highest daily toll since late October, as officials extended restrictions for another week to curb transmissions.
Overnight fatalities saw a 43% jump compared to last week, pushing the national toll to 134,798, IRNA reported.
Weekly deaths in the province of Tehran bounced back to three-digit figures over the past week, with the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus sweeping the country.
Head of Covid-19 operations in the province of Tehran, Alireza Zali, noted that the majority of deaths were occurring among the unvaccinated.
He explained, “The severity of the disease for someone who’s gotten two shots can be five times higher than for an individual who’s received the booster dose.”
Health Minister Bahram Einollahi on Saturday pointed to the anniversary of the Covid-19 pandemic in Iran and once again encouraged the public to complete their vaccination against the disease.
“So far, 91% of Iranians have received the first dose, 81% the second dose and 32% have been administered the booster shot,” the official said.
Iran is giving out a combination of homegrown and imported Covid-19 vaccines to everyone over the age of five. Officials have refused to tighten restrictions in the face of the sixth wave of the pandemic, saying high vaccination coverage rates eliminate the need for quarantine measures.
The National Coronavirus Headquarters did extend certain measures to protect children against the virus as the variant seems to target kids the most.