Iran Goes Full Force Against Coronavirus
TEHRAN (Dispatches) — Iran’s government said Monday that 12 people had died nationwide from the new coronavirus, rejecting claims of a much higher death toll by a lawmaker from the city of Qom that has been at the epicenter of the virus in the country.
Five neighboring countries reported their first cases of the virus. Iran’s Health Ministry said the total number of infections have risen to 61 while deaths stood at 12.
The World Health Organization said last week that in 2% of infected cases, the virus has been fatal. There are concerns that clusters of the new coronavirus could signal a serious new stage in its global spread.
Authorities in Iraq and Afghanistan, which closed their borders with Iran, announced their first confirmed coronavirus cases on Monday. Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman also announced their first cases.
Health Ministry spokesman Iraj Harirchi said about 900 other suspected cases are being tested.
Harirchi chided a lawmaker from Qom, Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani, who claimed a higher death toll, saying lawmakers have no access to coronavirus statistics and could be mixing figures on deaths related to other diseases like the flu with the new virus.
"Currently, the situation has almost stabilized in the country, and we have managed to reduce the problem to the minimum,” Harirchi said.
On Sunday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani officially instructed the Health Ministry to form a national headquarters tasked with containing the outbreak of the new coronavirus.
Asked about the spike in cases in Iran, WHO’s emergencies program director Michael Ryan cautioned that in the first wave reported from a country, only the deaths may be being picked up and therefore are over-represented.
"The virus may have been there for longer than we had previously suspected,” Ryan said. "Sometimes when you see an acceleration of cases and a spread from that, it doesn’t necessarily represent the natural transmission dynamics of the virus.”
The virus, which causes the COVID-19 illness, has infected more than 79,000 people globally, and caused more than 2,600 deaths, most of them in China.
The head of the WHO expressed concern over the virus’ spread, including in Italy where more than 200 have tested positive and five have died.
"The past few weeks has demonstrated just how quickly a new virus can spread around the world and cause widespread fear and disruption,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.
Ryan said a team from WHO would arrive in Iran on Tuesday. Iran has confirmed cases in five cities, including Tehran.
To prevent the spread of the virus, schools across much of the country were closed for a second day. Soccer matches and movie screenings have been suspended. Tehran’s metro, which is used by about 3 million people in the capital, and public buses are being sanitized daily.
Harirchi, however, categorically ruled out quarantines to be imposed on some cities, saying the measure suited the time before World War One.
"Quarantines have many consequences and we do not accept of them under any circumstances,” he said.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said Monday the closure of the country’s borders with some neighboring states over the coronavirus outbreak is only a temporary measure and a result of the current emergency conditions.
"The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a state of emergency in some parts of the world and it is only natural that some measures must be taken collectively to counter the virus,” Abbas Mousavi said.
"When the coronavirus was detected in our country, our neighbors also felt concerns about the spread of the disease to their countries, which is natural, but this issue should not prevent popular exchanges or exports and imports among countries,” he added.
Five neighboring countries reported their first cases of the virus. Iran’s Health Ministry said the total number of infections have risen to 61 while deaths stood at 12.
The World Health Organization said last week that in 2% of infected cases, the virus has been fatal. There are concerns that clusters of the new coronavirus could signal a serious new stage in its global spread.
Authorities in Iraq and Afghanistan, which closed their borders with Iran, announced their first confirmed coronavirus cases on Monday. Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman also announced their first cases.
Health Ministry spokesman Iraj Harirchi said about 900 other suspected cases are being tested.
Harirchi chided a lawmaker from Qom, Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani, who claimed a higher death toll, saying lawmakers have no access to coronavirus statistics and could be mixing figures on deaths related to other diseases like the flu with the new virus.
"Currently, the situation has almost stabilized in the country, and we have managed to reduce the problem to the minimum,” Harirchi said.
On Sunday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani officially instructed the Health Ministry to form a national headquarters tasked with containing the outbreak of the new coronavirus.
Asked about the spike in cases in Iran, WHO’s emergencies program director Michael Ryan cautioned that in the first wave reported from a country, only the deaths may be being picked up and therefore are over-represented.
"The virus may have been there for longer than we had previously suspected,” Ryan said. "Sometimes when you see an acceleration of cases and a spread from that, it doesn’t necessarily represent the natural transmission dynamics of the virus.”
The virus, which causes the COVID-19 illness, has infected more than 79,000 people globally, and caused more than 2,600 deaths, most of them in China.
The head of the WHO expressed concern over the virus’ spread, including in Italy where more than 200 have tested positive and five have died.
"The past few weeks has demonstrated just how quickly a new virus can spread around the world and cause widespread fear and disruption,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.
Ryan said a team from WHO would arrive in Iran on Tuesday. Iran has confirmed cases in five cities, including Tehran.
To prevent the spread of the virus, schools across much of the country were closed for a second day. Soccer matches and movie screenings have been suspended. Tehran’s metro, which is used by about 3 million people in the capital, and public buses are being sanitized daily.
Harirchi, however, categorically ruled out quarantines to be imposed on some cities, saying the measure suited the time before World War One.
"Quarantines have many consequences and we do not accept of them under any circumstances,” he said.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said Monday the closure of the country’s borders with some neighboring states over the coronavirus outbreak is only a temporary measure and a result of the current emergency conditions.
"The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a state of emergency in some parts of the world and it is only natural that some measures must be taken collectively to counter the virus,” Abbas Mousavi said.
"When the coronavirus was detected in our country, our neighbors also felt concerns about the spread of the disease to their countries, which is natural, but this issue should not prevent popular exchanges or exports and imports among countries,” he added.