Covid-19 is worldwide.
Italy, Singapore, South Korea, Japan; almost every country reported Covid-19 cases within their own borders.
Iran is one of the latest countries to join back on 19 Feb 2020 but unlike other countries, their Covid-19 situation didn’t gradually worsen.
It took off like an F1 racer right from the start.
Number of Reported Cases
On 19 Feb 2020, Iran reported its first 2 Covid-19 cases. Within the same day, the health ministry announced that the two elderly Covid-19 patients had died.
They said that they died to lung infections caused by the coronavirus.
On 20 February, Iran reported 3 new cases, 2 from the city of Qom and 1 from Arak.
On 21 Feb, 13 new cases were reported. 7 from Qom, 4 from Tehran and 2 from the Gilan Province.
It was reported that 2 more has died from Covid-19.
On 22 Feb, 10 more infected cases were reported, bringing the total number to 29. Two more people have died as well.
And on 23 Feb, the total number of Covid-19 cases in Iran rose to 43 cases with 8 deaths.
But the speed isn’t the unusual part. It’s something else.
The Controversy
Covid-19 is known as a coronavirus with a low fatality rate.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the case fatality rate of Covid-19 is around 2% within China.
If we look at the numbers of Covid-19 cases and deaths in Iran, the case fatality rate seems much higher compared to everywhere else.
Which could possibly indicate that there’s a higher number of cases in Iran that the authorities are unaware of.
But do note that WHO has also mentioned that any CFR mentioned now isn’t accurate, and is only an estimate.
Accusations
The Iranian government is accused of concealing information about the coronavirus.
Letters which allegedly indicated that the government might’ve known about Covid-19 cases before 19 Feb were published to the media.
The government denied the allegations, calling them ‘fake’.
They also denied another letter which gives instructions to delay the announcement of Covid-19 “until after the parliamentary election”.
Strong Measures Put Into Place
Schools in 10 provinces across the country are closed for at least two days, including Tehran University.
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Students staying at the dormitories of the university are told to go home and attend online classes.
In addition, soccer fans are not allowed to go to spectate soccer matches and the operations of cinemas and other venues with shows are suspended.
Iran’s Health Minister Saeed Namaki said that they’re “almost certain” the Covid-19 virus came from a merchant who travelled between Iran and China.
