TEHRAN

Iran's three holiest sites have been closed to visitors to help stem the spread of coronavirus. 

According to Iranian national television, officials from the city of Qom and the holy sites decided to close the Fatima Masumeh Shrine and Jamkaran Mosque to curb the virus’ spread.

The Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad will also close, the Fars News Agency reported.

The coronavirus' death toll in Iran is 853, and the number of cases is 14,999.

Calls for the shrines to close grew louder after the virus was first detected in the country on Feb. 19.

The novel coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China last December, and has so far spread to at least 146 countries and territories, with the World Health Organization declaring the outbreak a pandemic.

According to Worldometer, a website that compiles new case numbers, out of roughly 173,000 confirmed cases, the death toll is over 6,600, while more than 77,500 of them have recovered.

The current number of active cases is over 88,500, with 93% in mild condition and 7% in critical condition.

*Writing by Firdevs Bulut