Iranian President Estimates Over 25 Million Citizens Have Covid-19

Referring to the health ministry report, Rouhani said it also predicts that the number of hospitalizations will soon be "twice as many as we have seen in the last 150 days.”

In recent weeks, Iran has seen daily death tolls spike to their highest-ever levels, sparking increasing fear even as government officials say they can’t lock the country back down for fear of cratering its sanctions-hit economy.

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Health officials have reported 2,166 new cases and 188 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Authorities in the capital Tehran are imposing new restrictions starting Saturday amid the increase in cases in recent weeks, closing some public spaces like coffee shops, zoos, and indoor swimming pools.

Before Iran reported its first cases of the virus in February, authorities denied it had reached the country for days, allowing the virus time to spread.

The nation marked the 41st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution with mass demonstrations and then held a parliamentary election in which authorities desperately sought to boost turnout.

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A parliamentary report in April said Iran’s death toll is likely nearly double the officially reported figures.

Given insufficient testing, the report said the number of people infected at the time was probably “eight to 10 times” higher than the reported figures.