The coronavirus has claimed 77 lives in Iran, officials said Tuesday, when the head of emergency services became the last senior official to be infected in the deadliest outbreak outside China. Iran has struggled to stop the rapid spread of the virus, closing schools and universities, suspending important cultural and sporting events and reducing working hours. On Tuesday he announced another 11 deaths and 835 new infections, the biggest increase in a single day since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the Islamic Republic almost two weeks ago. "According to the latest figures, 835 new patients have been added" to the total number of infections, said Deputy Deputy Minister of Health of Iran, Alireza Raisi. THE ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER THE NOTICE "Unfortunately, we have 11 new deaths, and with this amount we have reached 2,336 new confirmed cases and a total of 77 deaths," he said in statements broadcast live on state television. The national chief of emergency services, Pirhossein Kolivand, was the last high-profile official to contract the disease, a spokesman for the services told AFP. Confirmation of his infection came a day after the Tasnim news agency reported that the virus claimed the life of Mohammad Mirmohammadi, 72, a member of the Expedition Council who advises the supreme leader of Iran. It also occurs a week after the country's original vice minister of health, Iraj Harirchi, became ill with COVID-19. Harirchi admitted that he had tested positive one day after coughing and wiping the sweat from his forehead during a press conference that was broadcast live across the country on February 25.