Coronavirus pandemic: No longer at 'red' status, says Iran

Iran is no longer in "red" status in coronavirus outbreak, the health ministry announced Friday as the country recorded 93 deaths from COVID-19 over the last 24 hours. The final toll now stands at 5,574.

 Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said also announced 1,168 new cases of coronavirus infection, taking the country's total to 88,194. He also said that the 66,596 patients have recovered and had been released from hospitals.

"None of our provinces are in the red, but warnings remain, and the situation will not be considered normal at all," he tweeted.

Iran has been struggling to contain the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease since revealing its first cases more than two months ago.

The first cases it announced on February 19 were deaths in the Shiite holy city of Qom, south of the capital.

The outbreak was quick to spread to all of the country's 31 provinces.

Despite still battling the virus, the Iranian government has allowed many businesses to reopen since April 11 after shutting most down in mid-March to prevent the spread of the disease.

(With inputs from agencies)