978 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 54 deaths reported across the Iran
Tehran: Iran has one of the highest confirmed rates of new coronavirus in the world, ranking fourth behind China, South Korea and Italy. The country moved to close some schools, with parliament shutting down Friday amid fears of infection.
Iran has been among the countries hardest hit by COVID-19, with 978 confirmed cases and 54 deaths reported. In a yet to be explained turn of events, the virus seems to have also targeted the country’s top leader, Seyed Mir-Mohammadi, a member of the advisory body to the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei died from complications associated with the virus on Monday.
Officials in the central Iranian city of Yazd are building a special-purpose biological hospital to deal with the Wuhan coronavirus, according to the Tasmin News Agency, the hospital will cover an area of 1,000 square meters, and feature an emergency ward, a rest area for staff, and a warehouse for biohazardous materials.
Over 89,000 cases of new coronavirus have been confirmed worldwide, over 80,000 of them in mainland China. Over 3,000 people have died, 2,800 of them in China. Over 45,000 more have made a complete recovery.