Al-Monitor - Iranian officials have warned that the country would experience a third wave of coronavirus in the fall.

Even as the number of coronavirus deaths has fallen in the last few weeks, Iranian officials are warning that the country will soon witness a third wave.

According to Health Ministry spokesperson Sima Sadat Lari, Iran had almost 2,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total documented infections in the country to 380,000. Also in the last 24 hours, there have been 129 coronavirus-linked deaths, bringing the confirmed death total to nearly 22,000. While these are the documented number of coronavirus deaths and cases in the country, Iranian officials have warned previously the actual numbers for both are higher.

Iran was one of the earliest countries to have an outbreak of coronavirus infections, largely due to its close relations and travel with China, where the virus is believed to have originated. In February, the first cases of the virus and deaths in Iran began to be documented. In March, the country implemented a nationwide lockdown, making exceptions for only essential services but soon gradually easing the measures in April due to the economic pressures of a sustained lockdown. Coronavirus cases and deaths increased once again for a period of time in July and have come back down in the last few weeks.

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