20 members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly test positive for coronavirus; people criticize lack of access to coronavirus testing

Mehr News Agency reported that at least 20 members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly tested positive for coronavirus.

The news agency wrote on Sunday, March 1, that Masoumeh Aghapour Alamshahi, a representative of Shabestar County in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, Qasem Mirzaei Neko, a representative of Damavand, and one of the representatives of Tabriz, Azarshahr, and Osku in the Assembly tested positive for coronavirus.

Previously, Mahmoud Sadeghi and Mojtaba Zolnouri were among the representatives whose test results had previously been announced positive.

Is testing only for officials?

People are critical of the state of coronavirus treatment and testing in Iran. They say that officials have access to tests, but ordinary people do not.

A user wrote on Twitter: "They imported 5,000 coronavirus testing kits so that officials, their families, and their loved ones can get tested three times, but ordinary people have to die waiting in line for tests."

Another user wrote: "How do they get coronavirus tests from these officials that will soon be positive and negative? Did they import those kits just for officials?"

"The United States stands with the people of Iran during the public health crisis caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on Friday, March 29. "The United States stands with the people of Iran during the public health crisis caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The United States government stands ready to assist the people of Iran in their relief efforts." This offer of support to the people of Iran, which was officially communicated to Iran through the Swiss government, underscores our continued commitment to addressing health crises and preventing the spread of infectious diseases.

Mike Pompeo also said on Friday, March 29, in a meeting of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, considering the history of concealment by Islamic Republic officials, that the Iranian regime is reluctant to provide information about the spread of the coronavirus, and I am concerned that they may have hidden important information.

This is the second time that the US Secretary of State has expressed concern about possible cover-up by Iranian officials. Mike Pompeo warned on Tuesday that the US is concerned about the Islamic Republic's authorities' cover-up of the coronavirus outbreak.

The United States announced on Thursday that it has granted waivers from sanctions on Iran, allowing Iran's central bank to make financial transfers to send certain humanitarian services.

Coronavirus has killed at least 34 people in Iran so far. Reuters reported, citing unofficial figures, that more than 210 people in Iran have died from the virus.

Public opinion in Iran is concerned about the Iranian authorities' secrecy. The first death from coronavirus was reported on March 1, even though officials had previously denied any cases of coronavirus in Iran.

In previous years, there has been a history of Islamic Republic officials arresting and imprisoning people who reported on the incident, rather than pursuing and dealing with the perpetrators, in cases such as the Isfahan acid attack.

Source: Voice of America