Iran announces record rise in coronavirus cases

Iran announced a record surge in the number of coronavirus cases diagnosed overnight while confirmed deaths also climbed to almost 2,000.

The country – the hardest-hit in the Middle East – confirmed 1,762 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the total to at least 24,811. 

Meanwhile deaths climbed by 112 to at least 1,934. Serious questions have been raised over the reliability of Iran’s data after the country initially downplayed and tried to cover up the severity of the outbreak.

Iran, like most other coronavirus-hit countries, is also facing a shortfall of test kits which has hampered its ability to provide accurate figures. 

Iran diagnosed 1,762 new cases of coronavirus between Monday and Tuesday, a record single-day rise and putting the national total up to 24,811 (pictured, a man in a mask walks past closed stores in Tehran)

Iran also announced another 122 deaths from the illness, bringing the total to almost 2,000 - though serious questions have been raised over the reliability of the figures (pictured, Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif, centre, wears a mask during a coronavirus committee meeting)

Iran also announced another 122 deaths from the illness, bringing the total to almost 2,000 – though serious questions have been raised over the reliability of the figures (pictured, Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif, centre, wears a mask during a coronavirus committee meeting)

World health authorities have warned that coronavirus cases are still spiking across the globe with Europe and the US now accounting for most of the new infections

World health authorities have warned that coronavirus cases are still spiking across the globe with Europe and the US now accounting for most of the new infections

The dead include the mother-in-law of the son of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the state-run IRNA news agency said Monday.

Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour warned the public that numbers of the infected likely will rise further as Iran now has more ability to test and screen suspected cases. 

The ministry also has launched a website for the public to report if they suspect they have the virus, which will link them to medical staff who will come to them for tests.

So far, 41 million people have used the site, Jahanpour said. Iran is home to some 80 million people. 

As the situation in Iran worsened, the International Monetary Fund warned that a lack of medical supplies in Iraq, Sudan and Yemen could lead to a surge in prices.

That could cause widespread problems in even some of the wealthiest Middle Eastern economies, which rely heavily on the price of oil – which has been tanking in recent weeks – for much of their income.  

The dead includes the mother-in-law of one of Ayatollah Khamenei's sons, according to Iranian state media (file image)

The dead includes the mother-in-law of one of Ayatollah Khamenei’s sons, according to Iranian state media (file image)

Already, countries have reacted by either urging or ordering hundreds of millions of people to stay home.

The IMF, which traditionally has urged governments to implement greater austerity measures, now urges Mideast governments to offer temporary tax relief and cash transfers.

‘Given the large numbers of people employed in the service sector, there will be wide reverberations if unemployment rises and wages and remittances fall,’ the IMF’s director for the Middle East, Jihad Azour, said in statement.

In Egypt, tourist cancellations have reached 80 per cent, while retail and hospitality sectors have also been hard-hit in countries like the United Arab Emirates where tourism is a pillar of the economy, according to the IMF.

The arrival of the global pandemic in Syria with one positive case, as well as in the Gaza Strip, has raised concerns the virus could run rampant in some of the most vulnerable areas in the Middle East. 

Iran is the hardest-hit country in the Middle East, after coronavirus began spreading out of the holy city of Qom in February

Iran is the hardest-hit country in the Middle East, after coronavirus began spreading out of the holy city of Qom in February

Empty streets are seen as preventative measures are taken against coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Tabriz, Iran

Empty streets are seen as preventative measures are taken against coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Tabriz, Iran

War-torn Libya and Yemen, which have yet to report any cases, are also a source of concern. 

Lines have formed outside grocery stores, banks and gas stations across the Syrian capital, Damascus, as people braced for wider closures. The government has already closed restaurants, cafes and other businesses, and has halted public transportation.

Pakistani authorities meanwhile said they’d shut down train operations across the country from Wednesday until March 31 in an effort to contain the spread of the new coronavirus as nationwide cases jumped to over 900.

In Egypt’s Mediterranean city of Alexandria, dozens of people early Tuesday prayed to God for help against the virus. 

Online video showed people praying from their windows and balconies. 

Others showed some three dozen people marching in a side street and chanting: ‘There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his Messenger,’ drawing criticism from people who said the demonstrators should have stayed at home.

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