UPDATE 2-Ten new cases of coronavirus in Iran, one dead- health ministry

Ten new cases of coronavirus have been detected in Iran, one of whom has died, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said on state TV on Saturday.

The new numbers bring the total number of cases of the new coronavirus in the country to 28, with five of the total having died. The spokesman did not say where the latest death had been. Most of the cases, including eight of the new infections, have been in Qom, a Shi'ite Muslim holy city 120 km (75 miles) south of the capital Tehran.

Health officials called on Thursday for the suspension of all religious gatherings in Qom. Iran has suspended religious pilgrimage trips to Iraq over coronavirus fears, an official who oversees pilgrimage trips said on Saturday, according to the Fars news agency.

Iraq announced on Thursday that it had banned border crossings by Iranian nationals for three days because of worries about the spread of the disease, Iraq's state news agency said. The decision came after Iraqi Airways suspended flights to Iran.

Iranian state TV reported on Saturday that a mayor of a district in Tehran had been diagnosed with coronavirus but the Fars news agency later tweeted a denial from the director of the public relations for the district. The coronavirus began in China and has largely been focused there, but it has spread to a growing number of other countries.