A day after Iran’s Deputy Health Minister announced that the government has Coronavirus outbreak under control, he has tested positive for the virus.
? مشاور وزیر بهداشت: تست ابتلای معاون کل وزارت بهداشت به کرونا مثبت شد. pic.twitter.com/fHmwQy11yf
— خبرگزاری فارس (@FarsNews_Agency) February 25, 2020
In a press conference on Monday, Iraj Harirchi had denied a lawmaker’s claims that 50 people had died after contacting the virus in Qom and had offered to resign should the report be true. While he appeared to be sweating at the conference, he officially announced he was infected on Tuesday.
Iraj Harirchi, Iran’s deputy health minister, went on TV yesterday (left) to insist the Iranian government was getting the #coronavirus outbreak under control.
Today it was announced Harirchi himself has the virus. pic.twitter.com/dO0RgLyydk
— Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez) February 25, 2020
Iran has reported 95 confirmed cases of CoVid-19 cases since last week but the actual number is believed to a lot higher. As per authorities, the outbreak has killed 15 people. Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani, Member of Parliament from Qom, accused Iran’s government of not being transparent about the outbreak of Coronavirus.
Farahani claimed that Qom is at the centre of Iran’s Covid-19 outbreak alone has witnessed more than 50 deaths. The authorities have so far refused to quarantine the city, which is a major destination for Shia Muslim pilgrims and a centre of Shia learning.