A municipal official in the central Iranian province of Yazd says the province will set up a special hospital in the city of Yazd in a matter of three days for the treatment of confirmed coronavirus patients and containing the deadly virus.

Following a decision by the Islamic Council of Yazd, the construction work for the hospital started on Sunday morning, Tasnim news agency quoted Mahmoud Dehqan as saying.

He expressed hope that the project would be completed within the next three days, after which equipping the facility would begin.

The hospital covers an area of 1,000 square meters and has an emergency ward as well as a warehouse for keeping biohazard management equipment.

The municipality of Yazd has undertaken the project.

On Sunday, the Iranian Health Ministry updated the death toll from the virus to 54. The number of confirmed infections in the country stands at 978.

The ministry's spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said a total of 175 corona patients had already recovered and been discharged from hospitals.

‘IRGC will take all measures to contain outbreak’

Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday that it was ready to take all the necessary measures to contain the novel coronavirus in cooperation with Basij volunteer forces until normalcy returns.

In a statement addressed to the Iranian nation, the elite force added that under the current circumstances that the virus has spread across Iran and more than 50 other countries and the world is determined to combat it, the IRGC has made its full capacity and human resources in the health sector available to the responsible organizations since the very first days of the outbreak of COVID-19.

It said the IRGC has set up a special headquarters to that end and has so far prepared hospitals and medical centers, begun disinfection operations and supplied the necessary medical equipment.

Despite the psychological warfare and media campaign launched by enemies and ill-wishers of the Iranian people with the purpose of undermining Iran’s medical capabilities and accusing the country of mismanagement, effective work has been done to control the virus and treat the patients, the IRGC statement pointed out.

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The coronavirus first emerged in China late last year and is now spreading in Europe, Americas and across the Middle East, sparking fears of a global pandemic.

Since December 2019, almost 87,000 people have been infected in several countries, with nearly 2,980 deaths mostly in China.

The World Health Organization announced on Friday that the coronavirus outbreak has reached the “highest level” of risk for the world.