Fears mount as coronavirus outbreak worsens in sanctions-hit Iran

Local official says death toll stands at 50, raising concerns of a cover-up and whether the country will be able to cope with the crisis

Calls for US to ease restrictions to allow China and other Tehran-friendly countries to provide emergency aid

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Schools, universities and cultural centres have been closed across Iran in an effort to limit the spread of the virus. Photo: AP

Published: 5:00am, 25 Feb 2020Updated: 3:03pm, 26 Feb 2020

As coronavirus cases and deaths spike in Iran, experts have warned the outbreak in the Islamic Republic could be far worse than officially reported, and emergency aid will be needed to help the sanctions-hit country avoid a humanitarian crisis.

Fifty people have died from the new coronavirus in the Shiite Muslim holy city of Qom this month, a local official was quoted as saying by Iran’s semi-official ILNA news agency on Monday.

The new figure, which has yet to be confirmed by the government, is significantly higher than the official tally, which stands at 12 deaths out of 47 confirmed infections, according to state television.

More than 250 people are quarantined in the city, which is a popular place of religious study for Shiites from across Iran and other countries, Ahmad Amiriabadi Farahani, an official from Qom, told ILNA.

Compared with other coronavirus hotspots – including China, where the disease originated – Iran has an unusually high death rate. It has prompted experts to raise concerns over whether there has been an official cover-up of the scale of the epidemic, and whether the country will be able to contain the deadly disease.

“I’m very much concerned about the potential Covid-19 outbreak in Iran, and some other Asian countries with weak health systems,” said Chen Xi, assistant professor of health policy and economics at the Yale School of Public Health, referring to the disease caused by the coronavirus.

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Fears mount as coronavirus outbreak worsens in sanctions-hit Iran

Local official says death toll stands at 50, raising concerns of a cover-up and whether the country will be able to cope with the crisis Calls for US to ease restrictions to allow China and other Tehran-friendly countries to provide emergency aid

Local official says death toll stands at 50, raising concerns of a cover-up and whether the country will be able to cope with the crisis

Calls for US to ease restrictions to allow China and other Tehran-friendly countries to provide emergency aid