For the first time in two months, daily deaths from COVID-19 in Iran passed the 100 mark on Sunday, June 14. The spokesperson of the ministry of health said 107 people died since Saturday.

Sima Sadat-Lari, the newly appointed spokesperson announced from the local News Network that deaths have totaled 8,837 since the epidemic was first announced on February 19 in the country.

Iran was one of the first coronavirus hotspots after China and so far, it has the largest number of infections and deaths in the Middle East.

In the last two months, the daily death toll was always under 100, but in recent two weeks infections increased again as the government opened the economy and reduced restrictions.

The number of people diagnosed with the virus increased by 2,472 since Saturday, reaching 187,427. More than 2,700 people are listed in serious condition in hospitals, Sadat-Lari said. She also expressed regret for the increase in deaths and added that seven provinces are in the red alert category for their high number of new cases.

Some local government officials, lawmakers and institutions have said that Iran’s official coronavirus numbers are much lower than the real figures by as much as 6-10-fold.

The government has been criticized for reacting late to the health crisis, refusing to institute quarantines and restrictions during the first crucial weeks of the epidemic.