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New virus cases as Iran minister warns against rumormongering

Saturday, 22 February 2020 11:12 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 22 February 2020 11:40 AM ]

This picture taken by the West Asia News Agency shows Iranian women wearing protective masks to prevent contracting a coronavirus walk at Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran, February 20, 2020. (Via Reuters)

The number of Iranian nationals infected with a new coronavirus has risen to 28 with five fatal cases, the Health Ministry says.

Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 785 people had been referred to health centers for examinations by Saturday afternoon.

"Since yesterday till now, 10 new cases have been confirmed, including eight people in the city of Qom and two in Tehran. In total, over the past days, we had 28 people definitively diagnosed with the coronavirus. Most of them are living in Qom or have travelled to the city," he said.

"One of the 10 new cases has lost his life. Overall, five people have died of coronavirus infection so far," he added.

Speaking on Thursday, Health Minister Saeed Namaki said the coronavirus would definitely be contained in Iran through people's vigilance and cooperation.

"The influenza virus was contained with God's grace in the autumn, the influenza fatality rate was far higher than the coronavirus," he said.

Speaking on Saturday, Namaki advised people not to pay attention to rumors, stressing that they would be informed of the statistics.

"We have enough kits and leading experts to diagnose [coronavirus] at medical science universities," he pointed out.

Javad Javidnia, the deputy for cyberspace affairs at the public prosecutor's office, said that the body is monitoring all news regarding the coronavirus and that those spreading rumors will be dealt with.

Iran confirms two new deaths, 13 more coronavirus cases

The outbreak of the virus in Iran first occurred on February 19.

The new coronavirus emerged in China's Wuhan in December 2019. Since then, over 76,200 people have been infected in as many as 27 countries, with more than 2,300 deaths mostly reported in the East Asian country.

It causes cold- and flu-like symptoms, including cough and fever, and in more severe cases, shortness of breath. It may also worsen to pneumonia, which can be fatal.

The World Health Organization named the illness the coronavirus causes COVID-19.

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