Iran - Covid-19: 397,801 cases; 22,913 deaths - August BBC investigation says 451,025 cases, 42,000 deaths

[kiwibird]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-51614920

Iran's deputy health minister has denied a claim of a cover-up over the new coronavirus disease, as the number of confirmed deaths there rose to 12.

A parliamentarian for Qom, the city at the centre of Iran's Covid-19 outbreak, accused the authorities of lying about the full extent of the problem.

Ahmad Amirabadi-Farahani said there had been 50 deaths in Qom alone.

That was rejected by the minister, who vowed to resign if it could be proven that even half that number had died.

"I categorically deny this information," Iraj Harirchi told a news conference.

"This is not the time for political confrontations. The coronavirus is a national problem," he added.
Government spokesman Ali Rabiei also insisted that officials would be transparent about reporting deaths associated with Covid-19, the infectious respiratory disease caused by the virus.

However, Mr Amirabadi-Farahani refused to retract his claim.

"I have given the names of 40 dead people to the deputy minister. Now, we await his resignation," he was quoted as saying by the Ilna news agency.

[Gert van der Hoek]

Iran confirms two more dead of new coronavirus - local media

febr 25 2020

DUBAI, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Two more Iranians infected with the new coronavirus have died in Iran, local media website Eghtesaonline reported on Tuesday, citing the the head of the Medical Science University of Saveh, raising the death toll in the Islamic Republic to 14.

“Tests showed they had the new coronavirus,” the official said, according to Eghtesaonline.

Iran’s Health Ministry said on Monday that 61 people have been infected with the coronavirus in Iran.

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/202...k-state-media/

Three more dead in Iran coronavirus outbreak: state media
The Online Citizen by The Online Citizen
2020-02-25

The novel coronavirus has claimed three more lives in Iran, state media reported, taking the country’s overall death toll from the outbreak to 15 — the highest outside China...

...Two of the dead were elderly women in the central province of Markazi and the other was a patient in the northern province of Alborz, state news agency IRNA said.

“One was an 87-year-old woman with a history of cardiovascular, pulmonary, liver and kidney diseases who passed away after being hospitalised for two days,” Abbas Nikravesh, head of Saveh city’s medical university, told IRNA.

The other was an 82-year-old with “serious blood and cardiovascular diseases” and died after being hospitalised for a day, he added, noting that she had a history of visiting Qom as her children live there.

“Three cases of coronavirus infection have been confirmed in Saveh city so far, with two dead,” Nikravesh said...

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.urdupoint.com/en/health/...to-846590.html

Number Of Coronavirus Cases In Iran Rises To 95, 15 Dead - Health Ministry
Muhammad Irfan 18 minutes ago Tue 25th February 2020 | 03:44 PM

TEHRAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th February, 2020) A total number of the people infected with the novel coronavirus, officially named COVID-19, in Iran rose to 95, while fifteen of them were killed by the virus, the country's Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said on Tuesday...

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/wor...navirus-592336

Iran deputy health minister tests positive for Coronavirus
Iran deputy health minister Mohammad Mehdi Gouya tests positive for coronavirus
India TV News Desk India TV News Desk
Tehran Updated on: February 25, 2020 17:38 IST

Iran deputy health minister Mohammad Mehdi Gouya has been tested positive for coronavirus. The novel coronavirus has infected more than 80,000 people globally, causing around 2,700 deaths, mainly in China. The World Health Organization has named the illness COVID-19, referring to its origin late last year and the coronavirus that causes it.

Iran’s government said Tuesday that 15 people had died nationwide from the new coronavirus, rejecting claims of a much higher death toll of 50 by a lawmaker from the city of Qom that has been at the epicenter of the virus in the country. The conflicting reports raised questions about the Iranian government’s transparency concerning the scale of the outbreak...

[Shiloh]

Interesting article about Iran: https://thebulwark.com/iran-and-the-coronavirus-crisis/

...One other prominent winter event is especially worth noting in the context of the coronavirus: a Persian heritage festival in Hamedan, the birthplace of Cyrus the Great, scheduled for January 24 to February 9 to coincide with the Chinese New Year—so as to attract Chinese tourists. Despite the coronavirus outbreak in China, the festival continued, and Chinese tourists arrived in droves to visit Hamedan and other cities across Iran—and Iranians, in response, kept uploading videos of sightings of Chinese tourists to show their objection to the regime’s policy of allowing them into Iran in the wake of the epidemic in China.

Iran became one of the very few countries that did not ban flights from and to China...

...Things get worse. As the COVID-19 disease is spreading, masks are nowhere to be found because, according to leaks from inside the IRGC, security forces had taken face masks out of the market following the recent protests since protestors had used them to cover their faces.

Medications are in short supply, as well...

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2...irus-spokesman

All Capacities of Iran’s Armed Forces Mobilized to Fight Coronavirus: Spokesman
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior spokesman for the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces said all capacities of the forces have been mobilized to help in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
February, 25, 2020 - 18:00

In remarks on Tuesday, Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi appreciated the establishment of a national task force on coronavirus outbreak and said the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces, including the Army, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Basij (Mobilization) Force, the Ministry of Defense, and the Law Enforcement Force, have mobilized their capacities to help in fighting against the infectious disease.

In addition to the round-the-clock efforts of the Ministry of Defense to provide the people with health supplies, all training centers of the Armed Forces are used by specialized medical teams and preventive measures have been taken, he stated...

....The Health Ministry says the source of contagion in Iran were the individuals returning to Iran from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China, some of whom have crossed the border illegally...

[Shiloh]

"he Health Ministry says the source of contagion in Iran were the individuals returning to Iran from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China, some of whom have crossed the border illegally"

Pretty much contradicts earlier reports that it originated with Chinese workers. At present, Iran is exporting cases...

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-51628484

Coronavirus: Iran's deputy health minister tests positive as outbreak worsens
20 minutes ago

Iran's deputy health minister and an MP have both tested positive for the new coronavirus disease, as it struggles to contain an outbreak that has killed 15.

The senior health official, Iraj Harirchi, said in a video that he was self-isolating and starting medication.

He was seen mopping his brow repeatedly at a news conference on Monday, when he denied the authorities were lying about the scale of the Covid-19 outbreak...

[Shiloh]

He does look ill in the video...

[sharon sanders]

Iran MoH site is down.

[sharon sanders]

Also appears state media site down too.

[sharon sanders]

Kianush Jahanpur
@drjahanpur

hasn't tweeted today. And the medical info site he has linked to his profile is also down.

I am wondering if the internet is unplugged in Iran.

[sharon sanders]

Kianush Jahanpur
@drjahanpur

hasn't tweeted today. And the medical info site he has linked to his profile is also down.

I am wondering if the internet is unplugged in Iran.

[Pathfinder]

Translation Google

Iran .. An invitation to the residents of 11 provinces not to leave their homes

To avoid the application of complete quarantine to cities due to the emerging corona virus

25.02.2020

Tehran / Muhammad Qureshun / Anatolia

Iranian Health Minister Saeed Nemki called on residents of 11 governorates not to leave their homes to avoid applying full quarantine to cities.

This came in a statement, on Tuesday, on official state television, warning citizens against the spread of the new Corona virus.

Nmky pointed out that intensive preventive measures were taken in all governorates of the country.

He called on citizens not to leave their homes, especially in areas where the virus has spread, except for the extreme necessity.

The minister asked the citizens not to move to and from Qom, from which the virus spread.

Earlier on Tuesday, Iranian Deputy Minister of Health Erg Hariri announced that he had contracted the new Corona virus.

Harirji said, in a statement, that he was subjected to quarantine, Monday, because of his high body temperature.

He explained that the results of his analyzes showed that he was infected with the Corona virus.

In turn, the Iranian Ministry of Health announced, the death of 15 people due to "Corona" in the country, and the number of injured rose to 95 cases.
...

https://www.aa.com.tr/ar/%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84%D9%8A/%D8%A5%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AF%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%A9-%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%86-11-%D9%85%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B8%D8%A9-%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%AF%D9%85-%D9%85%D8%BA%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D9%85%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B2%D9%84%D9%87%D9%85/1744783

[Shiloh]

From Radio Farda

Coronavirus Reaches The Political Elite In Iran And Rouhani Talks About Enemy Plots
1 hour ago

Mahmoud Sadeqi an outspoken reformist member of the Iranian parliament (Majles) has tested positive for Coronavirus, while there is deep concern about the true extent of a possible pandemic in Iran.

Meanwhile, Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi who has been actively playing down the significance of the contagion for public health in recent days, has also posted a video on social media announcing that he is also ill with the virus.

Several other Iranian officials including a county mayor in Tehran and the head of the Tehran City Council were also tested for the virus, and some of the test results have been positive.

In the meantime, media outside Iran put the number of deaths as a result of Coronavirus at 68 while officials in Iran insist the casualty toll is 15 adding that 95 other patients have been officially tested positive for the virus. .

Announcing the result of his test, Sadeqi (Sadeghi) wrote in a post on Twitter on Tuesday February 25, "I have very little hope to survive." He is a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war and his lungs were reportedly damaged by Iraqi chemical weapons. People with weak lungs are more vulnerable if they contract the virus.

Meanwhile, Sadeqi asked Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raeesi to grant furlough to political and security prisoners to prevent the spread of Coronavirus in prisons...

Read more: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/coronavi.../30453730.html

[Shiloh]

Estimation of COVID-2019 burden and potential for international dissemination of infection from Iran
Ashleigh R. Tuite, Isaac Bogoch, Ryan Sherbo, Alexander Watts, David N. Fisman, Kamran Khan
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.24.20027375
This article is a preprint and has not been peer-reviewed [what does this mean?]. It reports new medical research that has yet to be evaluated and so should not be used to guide clinical practice.

Read more: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1....24.20027375v1