A 107-year-old Iranian woman who became infected with the novel coronavirus has recovered, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported on Sunday.
The woman, Saltanat Akbari, was admitted to the Khansari hospital in the central city of Arak. She was discharged from the hospital after spending "some time" in isolation.
"She defeated the virus with the help of doctors and nurses at the hospital," Fars reported.
Iran is the hardest-hit country in the Middle East, with 133,521 cases and 7,359 deaths.
However, an official parliamentary report last month suggested the true number could be many times higher than the official toll due to issues with testing and a slow initial response.
Iran said last week that 10,000 doctors and nurses contracted the virus as it ravaged the country.
Coronavirus around the Middle East
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A woman sits on a bench near the Bosphorus during a curfew in Istanbul, Turkey. EPA -
Palestinian policemen in protective suits hold people back during the burial of a woman who has died after contracting the coronavirus in the southern Gaza Strip. Reuters -
A man leaves one of the markets in the old Habous district of Casablanca where many shops specialising in clothing and party items are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, in Casablanca, Morocco. AP Photo -
An empty street and closed shops ahead of Eid Al Fitr in the West Bank city of Hebron. EPA -
Closed shops in the West Bank city of Hebron. EPA -
Dr Samir Lahouel (right), a health director for the region, inspects the facilities of a hotel in the Tunisian city of Mahdia housing Tunisians who are under compulsory quarantine following their repatriation. AFP -
Tunisian philosopher and anthropologist Youssef Seddik poses for a picture during confinement at home in the capital Tunis. Under confinement, Seddik has been spending time dissecting the meaning of words, and with them, the world. From the coronavirus pandemic, he hopes to witness the birth of a rediscovered spirituality. AFP -
People wear masks and wait respecting the social distancing measures outside a famous pastry shop in Casablanca, Morocco. AP Photo -
Women walk past a shop displaying mannequins wearing face masks in Sidon, southern Lebanon. Reuters -
A saleswoman attends to a customer while both wearing face masks in Sidon, southern Lebanon. Reuters
With restrictions on leaving the house and a mass mobilisation of the military and civilian medical services, Iran began bringing the daily increase in numbers down.
However, after bringing the number down to below 1,000 new cases a day, the numbers have again risen to close to 2,000 a day with outbreaks and pockets of the virus outside urban centres and in border provinces.
Ten out of Iran's 31 provinces are now in the virus "containment stage", said President Hassan Rouhani in a televised virus taskforce meeting.
This stage calls for intensified screening to "separate those infected from others", he added, claiming the ratio of deaths to infections has dropped steadily across Iran.
Despite the rise in new cases, Iran has moved to ease some restrictions. Mr Rouhani said museums and historical sites would reopen to the public on Sunday. Shrines would open on Monday.
He last week announced the limited reopening of holy sites after Eid Al Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan.
The shrines would be open for only six hours a day while observing health protocols, he said at the time.
Iran in mid-March closed four main Shiite shrines including Imam Reza in Mashhad, Fatima Masumeh and Jamkaran mosques in Qom and Shah Abdol Azim in Tehran.
Rouhani added that all government employees working from home must return to their offices on May 30.
Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 1,869 new positive tests for coronavirus between Friday and Saturday had raised the country's tally to 133,521.
Ten provinces had reported no new deaths, while six declared one fatality each.
According to Mr Rouhani, 88 percent of Iran's Covid-19 victims were those with underlying health issues.
