World Health Organization official: Islamic Republic's statistics are one-fifth of the real number; Estimated number of people infected with coronavirus in Iran

A World Health Organization official who visited Tehran last week announced that the figures announced by Iranian authorities on coronavirus cases are only one-fifth of the actual number of infected people.

According to Reuters, Dr. Rick Brennan, announcing the news on Monday, March 16, about the reason why the official number of infected people in Iran is low compared to the actual number, said that it is probably because tests for coronavirus are only being taken from severe cases.

Iran's Ministry of Health announced on Monday that the number of people infected with the coronavirus in the country has reached 14,991.
The weakest part of Iran's efforts is data, according to Rick Brennan. "They're going to ramp up their testing capacity over time, and that's going to drive the numbers up," he added.

The Islamic Republic of Iran's response to the coronavirus pandemic has drawn criticism from some governments and UN officials. However, Rick Brennan said the Iranian government is taking the issue seriously at the highest levels.

Meanwhile, public opinion in Iran is concerned about the Islamic Republic’s cover-up of the coronavirus outbreak. The US State Department’s representative for Iran on Thursday, March 6, accused the Islamic Republic’s officials of lying to the Iranian people about the extent of the coronavirus in the country. Brian Hook told reporters: “The regime initially told the people that there was no need to worry about the spread of this virus. But at the same time, the virus was spreading throughout Iran.”

Previously, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a meeting of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee on Friday, March 29, said that the Iranian regime is reluctant to provide information about the spread of the coronavirus, and that he is concerned that they have hidden important information, given the history of concealment by officials of the Islamic Republic.

This was the second time that the US Secretary of State expressed concern about possible cover-up by Iranian officials. Mike Pompeo had previously warned that the US was concerned about the Islamic Republic's cover-up of the coronavirus outbreak.

Source: Voice of America