Three New Cases of Coronavirus Confirmed in Qom and Arak

Three more hospitalized patients in Qom and Arak have been confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus in Iran. Two individuals suspected of coronavirus infection have also been identified in Babol. A physician has stated that dozens of people with coronavirus symptoms have died in Qom hospitals.

The head of the Ministry of Health’s public relations and information center announced that based on laboratory evidence, three hospitalized patients in Qom and Arak have been confirmed to have COVID-19 (coronavirus), and the patients are currently under hospital care.

According to IRNA, Kianush Jahanbpur stated regarding the infection of three people with the new coronavirus in Qom and Arak: “As of this morning (Thursday, 1st of Esfand 1398), tests confirm two new cases in Qom and one case in Arak of COVID-19. All three patients are Iranian nationals, and the infected person in Arak is also a Qom resident and a colleague of a physician. With these cases, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country reaches five people.”

Jahanbpur also reported on a meeting of the “Coronavirus Prevention Task Force” on Thursday morning, in which topics such as the prevention structure, identification and management of this disease, as well as the readiness of medical emergency centers and rapid response teams, hospital bed capacity, public education and the proposed health protocol for holding elections on the 2nd of Esfand were discussed and reviewed.

According to the decision of the “Coronavirus Prevention Task Force,” the leave of all heads and deputy heads of universities and medical science faculties across the country has been cancelled until further notice, and all missions outside the country have also been removed from the agenda.

According to Kianush Jahanbpur, one of the proposals raised at the coronavirus prevention task force meeting was the temporary restriction of travel to the shrine of Hazrat Ma’soumeh, Jamkaran Mosque and other pilgrimage sites and gathering places in Qom city, the implementation of which is the responsibility of Qom’s governorate.

The Ministry of Health has also recommended that student and pupil tourist and pilgrimage camps, as well as all seminars and conferences in Qom city be cancelled until further notice.

The head of the Ministry of Health’s public relations and information center, regarding Friday’s parliamentary elections, said: “There is no particular consideration in this regard, and preventive and health suggestions and recommendations regarding the elections, especially in Qom’s electoral district, have been communicated to the Election Headquarters and the Ministry of Interior.”

“Dozens of people with coronavirus symptoms have died in Qom”

Dr. Mohammad Molaei, a physician residing in Qom whose brother died from coronavirus infection, stated that in Kamkar Hospital in Qom where his brother was hospitalized, no isolation measures are being taken, nor is there any warning or alert.

Dr. Molaei said on Thursday, the first of Azar (February 20) to the news agency “Rokna”: “The day before, the ICU of Kamkar Hospital in Qom informed me that my brother’s coronavirus test came back positive. This is while no isolation measures are being taken in this hospital. There is not even any warning or alert. The ICU supervisor told me on the first day that we have had several other cases in the same condition whose oxygen levels have gradually decreased, and then they are intubated and then they die. He said they don’t have a good prognosis, and therefore based on my experience, the probability of their survival is low.”

Dr. Molaei continued: “I told them my brother had no medical history, but he said the previous cases also had no medical history. They said all tests came back negative and it is unclear what infection this is that they receive all broad-spectrum antibiotics and antivirals but not only do the symptoms not improve, they worsen. Apparently the policy was to keep the disease quiet.”

The continuation of this physician’s remarks is striking. He says: “Interestingly, during the week my brother was in the hospital, no request was made to test him for coronavirus infection, and on the last day, upon my insistence and request, they took a sample and sent the coronavirus test to Tehran, and today the test result came back positive. Interestingly, dozens of people with these symptoms have died in Qom hospitals and the cause has been announced as pneumonia and lung infection. And it is really unclear whether it was pneumonia, influenza, or coronavirus?”

“Apparently it was not intended to test patients for coronavirus until now. One night before my brother’s death in the ICU, I told the department supervisor to test my brother for coronavirus. They answered that we have not taken a coronavirus test so far. Upon my insistence and request, they finally did this. Meanwhile, during these past few weeks, several other patients with the same presentation and symptoms have died. My brother who died had no underlying disease. He was 60 years old and a retired teacher who had no history of travel anywhere. He contracted coronavirus in the street and bazaar.”

At the end of his conversation with Rokna news agency, Dr. Molaei suggested to the Ministry of Health that this ministry obtain from all hospitals and ICU departments a list of patients who died only with respiratory infection symptoms during the past month so that the mortality rate and the spread of the disease at the national level can be determined.

Two Suspected Cases Identified in Babol

Simultaneously with the confirmation of new coronavirus cases in Qom and Arak, the health deputy of Babol University of Medical Sciences in Mazandaran announced the identification of two individuals suspected of coronavirus infection in this county.

According to Mostafa Javanian, “These two individuals are currently in quarantine and sampling from them is underway.” IRNA reported that Javanian refrained from providing more information about patients suspected of being infected with the new coronavirus within this university’s jurisdiction and postponed detailed comments on this matter.

Previously, the health deputy of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences had announced that no cases of this viral disease have been observed within this university’s jurisdiction.

Source: DW