Iranian Coronavirus Death Toll Rises To 43

Iran’s Health Ministry says nine people have died from the new coronavirus in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths to 43 amid 593 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Islamic republic.

Spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour gave the new figure on February 29.

“We have had 205 new cases of COVID-19 within 24 hours”, he said, while urging people to stay away from mass gatherings and limit their travel.

Iran has the highest death toll outside of China, the epicenter of the outbreak.

The BBC’s Persian service said a count conducted by its unnamed sources in several hospitals suggested at least 210 people had died in the country as of late on February 27. The Health Ministry vehemently denied the report.

The rapid spread of the outbreak forced the cancellation of Friday Prayers in many mosques across the country.

Asadollah Abbasi, a spokesman of the parliamentary presidium, was quoted as saying on February 29 that five of 100 lawmakers in the Majlis, or parliament, had tested positive for the virus.

He said the other lawmakers will also be tested.

Iran’s government spokesman will hold his weekly news conference online due to the outbreak, the semiofficial Mehr news agency reported on February 29.

Iran has become the main hot spot of the virus in the Middle East, and the country’s officials have been accused of hiding the true scale of the outbreak.

Authorities canceled Friday Prayers in Tehran and 22 provincial capitals in response to the looming pandemic, while the Health Ministry advised against all public events, such as weddings or funerals. Schools and universities, along with cultural gathering places such cinemas, theatres, and concert halls, have all been closed.

COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, has infected some 83,000 people in dozens of countries, causing 2,800 deaths. Most of the cases and deaths were reported in China, where the disease emerged in December.

Countries on three continents reported their first cases of the coronavirus on February 28, including Azerbaijan, Belarus, Lithuania, Nigeria, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, dpa, BBC, IRNA