TEHRAN, Iran

Iran confirmed 475 more coronavirus-related fatalities on Sunday, raising the nationwide death toll to 44,802.

As many as 13,053 more people tested positive for the virus over the past 24 hours, pushing the tally to 854,361, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said.

A total of 603,445 patients have recovered of the novel virus so far, she added.

Amid rising infections, Deputy Health Minister Reza Malekzadeh stepped down on Friday, accusing Health Minister Saeed Namaki of mismanaging the pandemic.

All of Iran's 31 provinces have been declared red zones with a high risk of coronavirus transmission.

The red regions are undergoing a partial shutdown for two weeks from Nov. 21, which includes closing down all non-essential businesses.

A mandatory mask rule is already being implemented across the country.