Iran’s deputy health minister is now under quarantine after testing positive for coronavirus following a press conference in which he appeared unwell.
Iran was accused of once again putting politics ahead of the welfare of its own people, as Iraj Harirchi, sweating and seeming ill, insisted at a news conference that the virus outbreak was not as serious as reports were indicating.
BREAKING: Iran’s deputy health minister tests positive for coronavirus; he had previously looked unwell during a press conference pic.twitter.com/at0DHN0m3a
— BNO Newsroom (@BNODesk) February 25, 2020
The latest numbers being reported by officials acknowledged 95 cases of coronavirus, with 15 people confirmed dead. But one lawmaker in the holy city of Qom contended that 50 people had died there, even as the local government refused to seal off the location at the center of the crisis. Those making pilgrimages to Qom may be unwittingly carrying and spreading the virus, critics warned, even as Iran faces shortages of some medical supplies.
Harirchi, who was seen wiping sweat from his brow at the news briefing on Monday, had been experiencing flu-like symptoms and weakness ahead of time, a spokesman for the Health Ministry said in an interview with the state-run news outlet IRNA.
#Iran coronavirus:
Deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi has coronavirus.
Yesterday he said they don’t believe in quarantine of cities & it belonged to WWI era.#كرونا— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) February 25, 2020
The deputy health minister posted a video from his home on Tuesday, explaining his diagnosis and how his fever had begun to abate. He also vowed the virus would be defeated while advising Iranians to be careful of their own health.
?حریرچی: من هم کرونایی شدم، حتما کرونا را شکست می دهیم. pic.twitter.com/O0zsfDwgAS
— خبرگزاری فارس (@FarsNews_Agency) February 25, 2020
Mahmoud Sadeghi, a member of Iran’s Parliament and a vocal critic of the Islamic Republic’s hardliners, also revealed that he had been diagnosed with the virus.
Mahmoud Sadeghi, member of Iranian parliament, confirms he has Coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/5ZTTjuIOuP
— Fuat (@lilygrutcher) February 25, 2020
“I don’t have a lot of hope of continuing life in this world,” the 57-year-old had written in a tweet.
Iran’s MP Mahmoud Sadeghi has tweeted that he is infected with #CoronaVirus, saying he doesn’t have much hope to stay alive. He has asked judiciary chief to send political & security prisoners to their families on leave so as to survive the epidemic virus. #covid19 #SARSCoV2 pic.twitter.com/FjZKCCThyM
— RamalamaKlingelingelingDingdong (@shisha_de) February 25, 2020
The New York Times reported:
A member of Parliament representing Qom claimed on Monday that at least 50 people had already died there, including 34 in quarantine, and that the first case had been reported more than two weeks before officials acknowledged any infections.
“Every day 10 people are dying in Qom,” the lawmaker, Ahmad Amiri Farahani, asserted in a speech to Parliament, demanding a quarantine on his city.
Ahead of Monday’s news briefing and his subsequent diagnosis, Harirchi had declared: “I will resign if the numbers are even half or a quarter of this.”
With Iran’s officials actively working to minimize the seriousness of the outbreak, warnings were being raised about the effect of the virus on those being held in the nation’s oppressive prisons.
Latest news from Iran: #coronavirus has reached Iranian prisons. Tehran lawmaker Mahmoud Sadeghi has also been tested positive to corona virus, and calls on judiciary chief to allow political prisoners a short break out so they don’t catch the virus.
— Noshin Rad (@noshabelle) February 25, 2020
Unless you have a loved one in Iran’s prisons, you can’t understand how helpless we Iranians feel.#CoronaVirus has now reached Iran’s prisons. I feel for my imprisoned brother & countless other innocent people who’re in Iran’s jails.
World, hear us. Our rulers don’t care!
— Masih Alinejad ?️ (@AlinejadMasih) February 25, 2020
The top official in charge of managing the coronavirus outbreak in Qom, Dr. Mohamad Reza Ghadir, had reportedly claimed on Iran’s state TV that the health ministry had ordered city officials “not to publish any statistics” on the Qom outbreak, noting that things there were “very dire and disease has spread across the city.”
#Iran coronavirus:
Dr. Ghadir, top health official in Qom now infected, tells State TV: The health ministry ordered Qom officials “not to publish statistics” related to coronavirus.
Wow.https://t.co/FF7kg2ss3I— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) February 24, 2020
2/ He warned again that the situation “was dire in Qom and the disease is spread across the city” and asked for the health ministry to help.
— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) February 24, 2020
Iran’s leaders appeared to be meeting to discuss the outbreak on Tuesday.
First photos coming in of #Rouhani presiding over #Iran‘s #CoronaVirus HQ meeting. Would note: looks like Industries Minister Reza Rahmani is there, after being seated next to government spox, who some speculate is at risk of contracting #COVIDー19 from deputy health minister. pic.twitter.com/7057DrRfqX
— Jason Brodsky (@JasonMBrodsky) February 25, 2020
President Rouhani reportedly played down the crisis and called out the outbreak reports as one of the “enemy’s plots.”
#Iran President Rouhani addresses the nation:
“This is one of the enemy’s plots to create panic to close down our society. No, we all have to work, carry on with our activities and be careful and take the sick to the hospital.”#Coronavirius— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) February 25, 2020
2/ Mr. Rouhani said work & day to day life will go back to normal as of Saturday. Any measures to combat virus will be announced by the national committee, he said avoid unnecessary public gatherings.
— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) February 25, 2020
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blasted Iran and China for their mishandling of the outbreak, and for censoring accurate reports while trying to cover up the facts.
Secretary of State Pompeo accuses the governments of China and Iran of censoring information about the coronavirus outbreaks in their countries, saying “censorship” can have “deadly consequences.” https://t.co/skvQ36s1qp pic.twitter.com/qs4M6HNuUL
— ABC News (@ABC) February 25, 2020
“All nations, including Iran, should tell the truth about the coronavirus and cooperate with international aid organizations,” he said.
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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