Iran's death toll from coronavirus jumps to 54, with 978 infected

Iran's death toll from the new coronavirus has reached 54, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur told state TV, adding the number of those infected had reached 978.

"There were 385 new cases of infected people in the last 24 hours, increasing the total number to 978. The death toll is 54," Jahanpur said, calling on Iranians to avoid any unnecessary trips and stay at home. On Saturday, the death toll was put at 43, with 593 infected.

Iran has had the highest number of deaths from coronavirus outside of China, where the outbreak originated, and a handful of countries in the region have reported infections among people who traveled to the Islamic Republic. Some neighboring countries have closed their borders with Iran and several countries have stopped flights.

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards have allocated facilities across the country to help eradicate the new coronavirus, a Guards commander told a televised news conference on Sunday. "We have set up centers across the country to help people to tackle the virus ... we need national cooperation to tackle this crisis. People should follow our health officials' advice," said the commander, who was not named by Iran's Press TV.