The novel Coronavirus, or COVID-19, made its way to nearly every province in Iran, increasing the number of people affected in the country to more than 4,747, with some reports claiming 124 people had died from the disease. Global health experts said the number of deaths was likely to be much higher.
Several prominent Iranian government officials who contracted the virus died, including Mohammad Mirmohammadi, an advisor to Ayatollah Khamenei, and Hossein Sheikholeslam, an aide to the Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and one of the students who overran the U.S. Embassy in 1979 in Tehran.
Iranian officials estimated this week that at least 8% of the Iranian parliament’s MPs had been infected with the virus.
Iranians accused the government of enabling the virus by allowing ongoing flights through the sanctioned Mahan Air fleet which travels frequently to China. China’s population was the first to be infected with the novel Coronavirus. The virus also caused economic chaos in Iran, as shops closed to try to limit the disease from spreading.
John Hopkins University in Maryland, U.S., has created a very good tracker which lets viewers see the latest Coronavirus data around the world.
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s Director General Rafael Grossi issued two new reports which U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said elevated “already serious concerns that the Islamic Republic of Iran is hiding its nuclear material and nuclear activities.” Pompeo urged the Iranian government to cooperate with the nuclear watchdog, which has called out the government for suspected undeclared activities and materials relating to its nuclear program.
- Kayhan Life’s Editor Nazenin Ansari confronts Jack Straw over the UK’s approach to Iran.
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- Iran went a second week without Friday Prayer, an unprecedented move spurred on by COVID-19’s rapid spread.
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- Global health expert Dr. Amir Afkhami spoke to Kayhan Life about the novel Coronavirus and its impact inside Iran.
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- The knock-on effects of COVID-19 in Iran are also economic, as the country’s exports take a hit.
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