Tehran, Aug 22 (AP) Iran has reported its highest single-day COVID-19 death toll of the pandemic, according to state media.

The official IRNA news agency said Sunday that 684 people had died of the disease since Saturday, while more than 36,400 new cases were confirmed over the same 24-hour period.

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Iran's previous daily record for COVID-19 deaths was recorded August 16.

The country reported its highest number of daily cases the next day, with more than 50,000.

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A five-day lockdown in the country ended on Saturday.

The current wave of infections is Iran's fifth of the pandemic and fueled by the highly contagious delta variant.

The country also is struggling to vaccinate its population against the coronavirus.

Some 7 per cent of Iranians have been fully vaccinated. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)