The Iranian authorities continue to update the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak across the country. According to officials, in the last 24 hours there have been 523 new cases and 12 deaths. So far there has been a total of 1,500 verified cases, 66 deaths and 291 recoveries. The hardest hit provinces are Tehran, Qom and Gilan.

Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi said that 22 testing centers have been set up across the country. He said that high numbers of individuals afraid they have the virus are visiting hospitals across the country but that 80% of those infected just need rest and do not need special medical treatment.

During a video press conference today, spokesman for the administration Ali Rabei said that schools will remained closed this week and that a decision on next week will be made soon.

A number of Iranian authorities have vowed strong action against hoarding medical supplies and price gouging. Attorney General Mohammad Jaffar Montazeri asked the Health Ministry to prosecute anyone hoarding medical supplies or disrupting their availability to health care professionals. Montazeri said offenses that hinder efforts to combat the coronavirus would be charged with “corruption on Earth,” a crime that carries the death penalty in Iran. Head of the judiciary Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi told prosecutors across the country to “show no mercy to those hoarding medical supplies and medicine.”