Iran Covid Cases Near Record High, Khamenei Warns on Pilgrimage

(Bloomberg) -- Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged people to forgo a major religious pilgrimage next month as the country reported its second-highest number of daily coronavirus cases.

Some 3,341 new infections were registered in Iran in the past 24 hours -- the most since a June 4 record of 3,574 -- and 177 people died, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said.

In a speech shown on state TV on Monday, Khamenei instructed Iranians to follow government orders to steer clear of the Oct. 8 Arba’een Shia gathering in Iraq, which normally attracts millions of pilgrims from around the world annually to the city of Karbala.

With a total 425,481 infections and 24,478 deaths, Iran has the Middle East’s worst coronavirus outbreak. Cases have surged since a public religious holiday in late August where tens of thousands took part in group mourning ceremonies and traveled between provinces.

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