An Iranian firefighter disinfects a street in the capital Tehran in a bid to halt the wild spread of coronavirus. AFP Photo

Tehran: Iran said on Saturday that the novel coronavirus has claimed 97 more lives in the country, raising the total to 611, as the number of confirmed cases jumped again.

Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said that "1,365 fresh cases have been added to the number of confirmed infections in the past 24 hours", bringing the total number to 12,729.