Coronavirus: Iranian state news agency says virus has killed 2 citizens, schools and universities closed for investigations
- The update comes after local authorities confirmed the first two cases in the country
- More than 75,000 people have been infected globally
The coronavirus has killed two elderly Iranian citizens, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported Wednesday.
IRNA quoted Alireza Vahabzadeh, an adviser to the country’s health minister, as saying that both victims had been carrying the coronavirus and were located in Qom, about 140km (86 miles) south of the capital Tehran.
The state news agency said later that schools and universities in Qom would be closed so an investigation could take place. No additional details were released.
Earlier on Wednesday, Iranian authorities confirmed two cases of the new virus, the first in the country, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency. Officials later said that the two patients had died.
ISNA quoted an official in the country’s health ministry, Kiyanoush Jahanpour, as saying that “since last two days, some suspected cases of the new coronavirus were found”.
The virus causes the illness that the World Health Organisation recently named COVID-19, referring to its origin late last year and the coronavirus that causes it.