Iran reported 129 new deaths on Monday, marking the largest increase in one day since the crisis began and raising the total death toll to more than 850.
Businesses in Iran remained open even as nearly 15,000 people have been infected, and other countries in the region have made efforts to seal their borders and move towards full lock-downs, according to an AP report.
Ayatollah Hashem Bathaei Golpayegani, a member of the Assembly of Experts that chooses Iran’s leader, died on Monday, according to Iranian media.
Iraq announced a week-long curfew starting late Tuesday, and people crowded into supermarkets to buy up the remaining food. All flights from Baghdad International Airport have been stopped. The country has reported 124 cases of the virus and nine deaths.
Egypt has reported 166 cases and four deaths, and has suspended all flights starting on Thursday and lasting until the end of the month, according to the AP.
