At least 210 Covid-19 patients may have died in Iran, a figure that is six times higher than the official death toll, according to the BBC,

Official figures debated

This figure is reportedly coming from hospital sources within Iran's healthcare system, which have told BBC Persian.

The official death toll as of Feb. 28, is 34, is the highest death toll outside China.

The official figure for confirmed cases in Iran is at 388, but this has been greatly debated.

Most confirmed cases in Iran come from the city of Qom in Tehran, where the outbreak started.

According to the BBC, Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour insisted that the government was being transparent. He also accused the BBC of spreading lies.

The Iranian government has, on multiple occasions, denied claims of a cover-up.

Iran's deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi previously attended a news conference in Tehran on Feb. 24, denying that the authorities were lying about the scale of the outbreak.

Harirchi has since been confirmed to have contracted the virus, along with other senior members of parliament, including one of Iran's Vice-Presidents, Masoumeh Ebtekar.

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