COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Iran reported its first confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections on 19 February 2020 in Qom. The virus may have been brought to the country by a merchant from Qom who had travelled to China.
COVID-19 pandemic in Iran | |
---|---|
Disease | COVID-19 |
Location | Iran |
First outbreak | Wuhan, Hubei, China (initial reports)[1] |
Index case | Qom |
Arrival date | 19 February 2020 (4 years, 6 months, 1 week and 2 days ago) |
Confirmed cases | 110,767[2] |
Recovered | 88,357[2] |
Deaths | 6,733[2] |
Government website | |
behdasht |
Government response
In response to the coronavirus the government cancelled public events and Friday prayers. They closed schools, universities, shopping centres, bazaars, and holy shrines; and banned festival celebrations.[3][4]
Economic help were also announced to help families and businesses. The government at first did not support plans to quarantine entire cities and areas. The government later announced a ban on travel between cities following an increase in the number of new cases.[4]
Numbers
Some outside guesses of the numbers of COVID-19 deaths were much higher than those from government sources, with one saying over 40,000 deaths.[5][6] The government was also accused of cover-ups, censorship, and not handling the pandemic well.[7][8][9][10] However, the World Health Organization said that it had not seen problems with Iran's reported numbers.[11]
Cases and deaths
Many government ministers and senior officials have been diagnosed as SARS-CoV-2 positive. As of 3 March 2020, 23 members of the Parliament (around 8% of all MPs) tested positive.[12]
At least 12 sitting or former Iranian politicians and officials had died from the virus by 17 March.[3]
Notable deaths
Some of the well known Iranians reported to have died from COVID-19 include:
COVID-19 Pandemic In Iran Media
A patient receiving treatment in a hospital in Tehran
Number of cases (blue) and number of deaths (red) on a logarithmic scale. Daily increments are shown as dotted lines.
People in Shiraz wearing facemasks next to a closed market
Doctors at Milad Hospital in September 2020
Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi (left) and spokesperson of the Government Ali Rabiei (right) at a press conference. A few hours after the conference, Harirchi announced that he tested positive for the virus.
Disinfection of Piroozi, Tehran
World Health Organization representatives holding joint meeting with Tehran administrators
References
- ↑ Wright, Robin. "How Iran Became a New Epicenter of the Coronavirus Outbreak". The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/how-iran-became-a-new-epicenter-of-the-coronavirus-outbreak. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Iran Coronavirus". Worldometer. Archived from the original on 9 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Coronavirus pandemic 'could kill millions' in Iran. Al Jazeera. 17 March 2020. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/coronavirus-pandemic-kill-millions-iran-200317135500255.html. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Coronavirus: Iran is facing a major challenge controlling the outbreak". BBC. 24 March 2020. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-51642926. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
- ↑ "Iran: Coronavirus Fatalities Exceed 40,000 in 314 Cities". 8 May 2020.
- ↑ Weinthal, Benjamin (7 April 2020). "Iran has 500,000 people infected with coronavirus". Jerusalem Post.
- ↑ "Brian Hook Says Iran 'Lied To Own People' Over Coronavirus". Radio Farda. Archived from the original on 13 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
- ↑ "US envoy says Iran 'lied to own people' over coronavirus". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- ↑ "Iran's government and media lied about coronavirus outbreak". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 1 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- ↑ "How Iran Became a New Epicenter of the Coronavirus Outbreak". The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/how-iran-became-a-new-epicenter-of-the-coronavirus-outbreak. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- ↑ "Iran's coronavirus updates cannot 'entirely' be trusted, expert says". cnbc. 2 March 2020. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- ↑ Henley, Jon (3 March 2020). "Coronavirus: Iran steps up efforts as 23 MPs said to be infected". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/03/iran-steps-up-coronavirus-efforts-as-23-mps-said-to-be-infected. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ↑ "Iran's ex-ambassador to Vatican dies of coronavirus". Middle East Monitor. 27 February 2020. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200227-irans-ex-ambassador-to-vatican-dies-of-coronavirus/. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- ↑ "Two Iranian religious figures latest to die of coronavirus in Iran". Al Arabiya English. 2020-03-07. Archived from the original on 2020-03-15. Retrieved 2020-08-08.