How the Islamic Republic Failed to Control the Spread of Coronavirus as the Virus Reached Iran’s Gates
The Associated Press reported on how Iranian authorities failed to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The report states that while Iraj Harirchi, the official tasked with leading the response to the coronavirus outbreak, promised on camera that the virus posed no threat to the country, he announced the very next day that he had contracted the virus and was in quarantine.
The Associated Press says Harirchi’s case is a small picture of what happened in Iran.
Almost 9 out of every 10 coronavirus cases in the Middle East are in Iran. More than 16,000 people in Iran have been infected with coronavirus, and at least 988 people have died.
The Associated Press writes that in Iran, the government controls media and journalists, who face restrictions on reporting, which is why many aspects of the coronavirus outbreak in Iran remain unknown. For example, it has not yet been announced who was the first person infected with coronavirus in Iran and where they contracted the virus.
Public opinion about the start of the outbreak points to the religious city of Qom, but how the virus entered the city remains unclear. Some officials have suggested that perhaps a merchant returning from China brought the virus. Qom is a religious city that pilgrims visit, but it has also attracted Chinese seminarians to study religious sciences, and a Chinese company is also building a high-speed railway project valued at $2.7 billion. China is also building a solar panel factory in Qom.
Despite the coronavirus outbreak in China, flights between Iran and China continued. The first two cases of coronavirus in Iran were reported on February 19, and it was said that both died in Qom. This is while symptoms of the disease take up to two weeks to appear, and these individuals were likely infected with the virus in early February.
Iranian Islamic Republic authorities provided no details about this. Iranian analysts say the silence was likely because the Islamic Republic was busy holding celebrations for the 41st anniversary of the 1357 revolution. Iran also held parliamentary elections two days after announcing the deaths from coronavirus, because after the November protests and the downing of the Ukrainian plane, the government was eager for high turnout. However, turnout was low, and Ayatollah Khamenei attributed the spread of coronavirus news in the media to an attempt to influence participation, and thanked the virus-stricken city of Qom for its participation.
Iranian authorities also refrained from closing Shiite religious sites. The Fatima Masumeh Shrine in Qom was open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with people touching and kissing its shrine and hosting foreign pilgrims. Closing this shrine faced opposition from many clerics.
Source: Voice of America
