At least 23 Iranian MPs and the head of Iran’s emergency medical service have reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus, in the latest spike in cases in the Islamic Republic.
Iran’s supreme leader put the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces on alert on Tuesday to assist health officials in combating the outbreak of the new coronavirus, the third deadliest outside of China.
Iranian authorities say the virus has killed 77 people so far while 2,336 have been infected, which is an increase of 835 in new infections in less than a week.
Coronavirus has already killed two senior government officials, including a Member of Parliament in Iran.
The Vice President has also been confirmed to be infected with the virus. The head of the country’s emergency medical services, Pirhossein Kolivand is also ill.
Health experts fear that the rate of infections might be higher than the confirmed cases given that currently, the ratio of deaths to infections stands at 3.3 percent.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) head, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, about 3.4 percent of confirmed cases of the coronavirus, also known as Covid-19, had died, far above seasonal flu’s fatality rate of under 1 percent.
The deadly virus which originated in China, in the city of Wuhan has spread to 77 countries alarming public health authorities across the world.
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