TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — For the second day in a row, Iran announced Monday its highest single-day death toll from the coronavirus with 272 people killed.

The announcement by Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari saw Iran also give its single-day highest count of new cases with 4,206 new patients.

Iran has been struggling with the coronavirus since announcing its first cases in February. Iran has seen the worst outbreak in the Middle East, with more than 500,000 confirmed cases. It has seen over 28,800 deaths and 409,000 recoveries.

In recent weeks, Iran has seen daily death tolls spike to their highest-ever levels, sparking increasing concern even as government officials continue to resist a total lockdown fear of cratering its sanctions-hit economy.

The virus has spread to the virus was spreading to the highest levels of the government, which is heavily populated by older men. Among those recently infected is the head of the country’s atomic energy organization. The country’s vice president in charge of budget and planning also tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday.

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Associated Press writer Isabel DeBre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.