As Iran becomes a new hotbed for coronavirus outside of China, authorities around the world are scrambling to expand their travel restrictions to stem the spread of the disease.

Key points: At least seven high-ranking Iranian officials have tested positive for the virus

At least seven high-ranking Iranian officials have tested positive for the virus Iran's coronavirus fatality rate of 7 per cent dwarfs the 1.6 per cent recorded outside of China

Iran's coronavirus fatality rate of 7 per cent dwarfs the 1.6 per cent recorded outside of China Iran is putting together a team of about 300,000 people to perform door-to-door coronavirus screenings

Tehran reported a 65 per cent jump in new confirmed coronavirus cases overnight, from 593 the day before to 978.

Of those, 54 have died from the virus — the highest death toll outside China — according to official figures, but there are reports the real figure has surpassed 200.

At least seven high-ranking Iranian officials including deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi, Vice-President Masoumeh Ebtekar and five MPs have tested positive for the virus.

One member of parliament, elected in Iran's February 21 polls, had died of coronavirus, Iranian media reported on Saturday.

Iran's deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi is among seven high-ranking officials to contract the virus. ( News Video )

What is also concerning is Iran's fatality rate of 5.5 per cent, significantly higher than 3.4 per cent in China and 1.5 per cent outside of mainland China, according to figures from the Australian Department of Health.

"This disease came unseen and undetected into Iran," Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organisation's emergencies program, said during a news conference last week.

"So the extent of infection may be broader than what we may be seeing."

The high death rate has raised questions over how the Iranian Government has handled the crisis and attracted accusations it has tried to cover up the severity of the outbreak.

Australia adds Iran to travel ban, US expands restrictions

Many neighbouring countries have closed their borders with Iran. ( AP: Ebrahim Noroozi )

Infections in neighbouring countries, and even in far away nations such as Canada, Norway and New Zealand, have been traced to Iran.

Australia, which has traced four coronavirus cases back to Iran, on Saturday banned foreigners coming to Australia from Iran, while the US expanded its existing travel restrictions on Iran to include any foreign national who had visited the nation in the past 14 days.

Several countries including Oman, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq and Saudi Arabia have suspended flights to the country after cases there were linked to Iran, while many neighbouring countries have closed their borders with the Islamic republic.

Australia's Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton cited the spike in deaths and new cases as the reason Australia had banned travel from Iran but not from South Korea (2,212 cases, 17 deaths) or Italy (1,694 cases, 34 deaths).

"As the chief medical officer has pointed out, it's not possible to extend the ban to every country," he told Insiders host David Speers.

"We'll see what phase we move into next, but there's particular concern about the lack of reporting out of Iran, the very high death rate.

On Friday, the BBC, citing hospital sources, reported at least 210 people had died from coronavirus in Iran, a figure that was six times higher than the nation's official death toll of 34 the same day.

Iranian authorities have denied under-reporting coronavirus cases. ( AP: Vahid Salemi )

Local media quoted Nahid Khodakarami, the head of the health committee for Tehran's City Council, on Friday as saying "it's likely that between 10,000 to 15,000 people in Iran have been infected with coronavirus".

But Iranian authorities have continuously rejected reports of doctored figures.

Mr Dutton said: "If you look at the under-reporting or the lack of reporting coming out of Iran to start with, I think there was a real concern as to whether they had a handle on the numbers."

"And I think even the numbers that we're talking about, relative to South Korea or elsewhere at the moment, potentially are well under-estimated.

"Obviously South Korea has a more advanced health system and they have been reporting numbers for a period of time. So I think there are key differences between those different markets."

Iran deploys spray trucks and fumigators

Workers have begun disinfecting subway carriages, buses and other public places in Tehran. ( AP: Sajjad Safari )

Iran now has 15 laboratories testing for the virus, and the nation has introduced a range of measures to stem the spread of coronavirus.

Spray trucks and fumigators have been deployed in the streets, and subway carriages and buses in Tehran are among public locations being sprayed with disinfectant.

Tehran has ordered that schools be closed until Tuesday and extended the closure of universities and a ban on concerts and sports events.

Starting Tuesday, Iran will put together approximately 300,000 teams to perform door-to-door coronavirus screening, Health Minister Saeed Namaki announced on state television on Sunday.

Last week, Mr Jahanpur suggested "tens of thousands" could seek testing for coronavirus. He also encouraged people to continue to avoid mass gatherings — even funerals for those who had died of the virus.

Authorities later banned the public from visiting patients at hospitals nationwide, state television reported.

"The safest place is our homes and our cities," he said.

"We have to reduce our visits, even attending to funerals, and of course those people who are mourning will feel guilty if they find that their ceremony causes the disease to spread."

Concerns continue to grow, however. Videos posted online show an angry crowd setting fire to the courtyard of a medical clinic overnight in the southern city of Bandar Abbas.

Semi-official media reported those gathered wrongly believed that the clinic housed people diagnosed with coronavirus.

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