Iran on Wednesday reported 415 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, the second daily record toll in a row in the Middle East’s worst-hit country.

Health ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said the new fatalities, 69 above Tuesday’s record toll, brought Iran’s total virus deaths to 33,714.

This is among Iran’s highest single-day jumps in virus fatalities since it reported its first cases in February.

Lari added that 6,824 people had tested positive for the virus, bringing Iran’s officially declared cases to 558,648.

Iran has recorded several new highs in both deaths and infections in recent weeks, as figures have kept rising since September.

Parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf on Wednesday became the latest official in the Islamic republic to be infected by COVID-19.

“One of my colleagues tested positive for the coronavirus; my test that came at midnight also turned out positive,” he announced on Twitter.

“I am currently in quarantine and, God willing, will be following up… on my responsibilities,” he said.

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