Iran’s Vice President tests positive to coronavirus

The Vice President of Iran  Massoumeh Ebtekar, who oversees Women Affairs  has tested positive to the coronavirus disease, and she  is currently one of the latest top officials to be infected in Iran as the spread of the new coronavirus disease appeared to accelerate in the country.

Penpushing reports that, Ms Ebtekar who is one of the Vice Presidents in the country and a former spokeswoman for students who took 52 Americans hostage at the US embassy in Tehran in 1979,  is being treated at home and members of her team have been tested, a State News Agency, IRNA, reported.

However, in similar development, a video posted by Fars News Agency revealed that the head of Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Affairs Committee, Mojtaba Zolnour, has also contracted the virus, and was in self-quarantine.

Penpushing further reports that  the Deputy Health Minister, Iraj Harirchi, who is also the head of the Government’s coronavirus task force, had  earlier tested positive to the disease,while it is on record that Iran is fast becoming a hot-spot for the disease outbreak in the Middle East as the coronavirus epidemic has claimed 26 lives.

The ministry spokesman, Kianoush Jahanpour, at a press conference disclosed that the tally of infections had risen to 245 with 106 more cases confirmed — the highest number for a single day since Iran announced its first infections on February 19.

Penpushing reports that the Middle East  country currently has the highest death toll from the virus outside China, which is the epicentre for the disease, although  Iran has refused to adopt the quarantine measures to curb the spread of the disease in the country.

The Iranian authorities on Wednesday announced restrictions on domestic travel for people with confirmed or suspected infections, and the restrictions might be coming a bit late as many neighbouring countries have been reporting cases from travellers from Iran.

Penpushing also reports that, Iran’s neighbours have closed their borders, while the United Arab Emirates(UAE), Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Estonia in Northern Europe all recorded new cases of the virus in people travelling from Iran.

The Iranian Government has placed new regulations on access to major Shiite pilgrimage sites, including the Imam Reza shrine in second city Mashhad and the Fatima Masumeh shrine in Qom, while the Health Minister Saeed Namaki said,“Visitors to the shrines will be allowed to visit on condition they are provided with hand-washing liquids, proper (health) information, masks. They must not gather together in groups but just pray and leave,” he said.

Penpushing reports that,the authorities have also announced the cancellation of the main Friday weekly prayers in Tehran, Qom and Mashhad as well as in the capitals of 22 of Iran’s 31 provinces and other infected areas.