TEHRAN — Iran"s health ministry on Sunday reported 49 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, the highest toll within 24 hours since the start of the outbreak in the country. "At least 194 of our compatriots who fell sick with the COVID-19 illness have passed away," health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said in a televised news conference. The outbreak of the virus in Iran is one of the deadliest outside of China, where the disease originated. Jahanpour added that 743 new infections were also confirmed within the past 24 hours, bringing the number of cases to 6,566 spread across all of Iran"s 31 provinces. With 1,805 infections, the capital Tehran remains the province with the most cases, the spokesman added. But the situation in other provinces continued to deteriorate, with Jahanpour saying 685 cases were detected in and around Qom, the Shiite city south of Tehran where the country"s first cases were reported. He said the number of cases was also "rising quickly" in Isfahan, a popular tourist destination, where there were now 564 people sick with the virus. No official widescale quarantine measures have been enforced but several provinces have announced they would not provide lodging for tourists in an effort to dissuade travel. Iran has been scrambling to contain the spread of the virus, closing schools and universities until the end of the Iranian new year celebrations and holidays in early April, a period when people typically travel and visit family. Meanwhile, Iran Air announced on Sunday the suspension of all its flights to Europe until further notice. The statement issued by the company made no mention of the novel coronavirus epidemic as a reason for the measure, citing only “restrictions” imposed by European authorities for “unknown reasons." According to several specialized sites, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) banned on Feb. 3 Iran Air aircraft from European airspace, namely an Airbus A321-200 and two Airbus A330-200 that had not undergone necessary upgrades for authorization to fly in Europe. Sweden on March 2 announced it was temporarily suspending the flight permits of Iran Air on the advice of health officials who said Tehran was “not in control” of the novel coronavirus outbreak on its soil. The Iranian carrier operates flights to multiple European destinations including Paris, London, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Frankfurt, Vienna and Rome. — AFP