The novel coronavirus killed a top Iranian cleric Monday, the Islamic republic said as it reported yet another record high single-day death toll in one of the world's worst-hit countries.
The latest 129 deaths brought the overall toll to 853 fatalities among nearly 15,000 infections since February 19, when the government announced Iran's first cases of the COVID-19 disease.
"Our plea is that everyone take this virus seriously and in no way attempt to travel to any province," health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said.