Tasnim � Students will go to school on an odd-even plan in the new educational year as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread in the country, Iran�s education minister announced.

All schools in Iran will reopen on September 5, Mohsen Haji Mirzaee said on Wednesday.

He added that students of both urban and rural schools with high population density will be divided into two groups in the new school year, some attending on even days and some on odd days.

The Iranian minister further said that in low risk areas with a low population of students, schools will have a normal routine, and the use of cyberspace to provide education will continue.

The number of coronavirus positive cases who have recovered from the viral disease in Iran has surpassed 290,000, the Health Ministry�s spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

Sima Sadat Lari put the death toll from the coronavirus in the country at 18,988, saying the disease had taken the lives of 188 patients over the previous 24 hours.

She also noted that at least 290,244 patients have recovered from the coronavirus infection so far or have been discharged from hospitals across Iran.

The number of people infected with COVID-19 across the world has surpassed 20.8 million and the death toll has exceeded 747,000.