The numbers of new cases and fatalities from the COVID-19 continued to rise on Wednesday as the country has entered the fifth wave of the pandemic.

The Health Ministry said 184 people lost their lives in 24 hours, bringing the total number of the fatalities to 86,391, according to IRNA. 

The ministry’s spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said that 23,371 people tested positive from Tuesday to Wednesday, putting the total number of new cases at 3,440,400.

She said that more than 3,069,900 patients have recovered so far or have been discharged from hospitals across the country.

Lari added that over 5.33 million people have received the first dose of coronavirus vaccine.

According to the Health Ministry, the number of “red” cities across the country has risen to 169. Red is the highest category in the country’s coronavirus risk ranking.