How did the coronavirus become a pandemic in Iran? Qom's lack of quarantine or Guilan's failure?
Qom is being cited as the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in Iran. Many believe that if Qom had been quarantined, the virus would not have infected Iran so severely. Now, some Iranian health officials are saying that Qom may not have been the only source of the outbreak.
Alireza Raisi, Iran's Deputy Minister of Health, gave an explanation in a conference with reporters about the Ministry of Health's latest findings regarding the origin of the coronavirus outbreak in Iran.
According to the official, "This disease in Qom was clearly and specifically related to Chinese people who were in this province; a number of Chinese workers who traveled there in February, as well as a number of students who were in Qom."
The Deputy Minister of Health, noting that “it was initially believed that the initial origin of the disease was in Qom and that the disease spread from Qom to other places,” announced the possibility of another source in the spread of the disease in Iran. Raisi said: “Now we are also suggesting that the origin was in two places; both in Qom and Gilan.”
He continued his speech by explaining the reason for the second possibility as follows: "We have come to the conclusion that a number of students living in Wuhan returned to Gilan province before the Wuhan quarantine, and this possibility exists in this case." However, he emphasized at the same time that the ministry's information regarding Gilan is not yet complete.
Did the Gilanis make a mistake?
Kianoush Jahanpour, the director general of public relations for the Ministry of Health, also mentioned in a speech on Wednesday, March 25, the possibility of the spread of the coronavirus from the two centers of Qom and Gilan. According to him, investigations are underway to prove this. Referring to the need for relevant agencies to report on this issue from epidemiological groups, he said in response to a question regarding the possibility of managerial and medical negligence in identifying infected people in Gilan: "I do not believe that there was any negligence. But the fact that people who traveled to China and were not identified as suspects can be considered negligence."
Why do we know Qom as the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in Iran?
With the official announcement of the arrival of the coronavirus in Iran, attention was immediately focused on Qom as the source of the virus outbreak in Iran, and immediately alarming news was published about the number of infected and deceased people due to the virus, which did not match the official news.
Kianoush Jahanpour, Deputy Information Minister of the Ministry of Health, was one of the first to announce, after confirming the entry of the coronavirus into Iran and the involvement of four Iranian provinces, that the infected were either residents of Qom or had traveled to the city in the past days and weeks.
Qom, with a population of about 1.2 million, is the second most visited pilgrimage city in Iran after Mashhad, welcoming millions of domestic and foreign tourists annually to visit the "Shrine of Hazrat Masoumeh" and the "Jamkaran Mosque".
The city is also home to a large number of citizens and students from neighboring countries. About two years ago, Hojatoleslam Alireza Biniyaz, the deputy director of research at Al-Mustafa University, told the media that more than 100,000 students from 136 countries were studying at the center.
With the news of the outbreak of the coronavirus in Qom, the news soon focused on the presence of foreign students in the city. The president of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences spoke of the presence of 700 Chinese students in the Qom seminary as one of the reasons for the spread of the coronavirus in the city; statements that were quickly denied by Mashhad University of Medical Sciences' public relations.
The director of seminaries across the country and the former head of the “Al-Mustafa University,” one of the largest centers for student education, denied the connection between the coronavirus outbreak in Qom and Chinese students. About two years ago, Hojjatoleslam Alireza Biniyaz, the deputy director of research at Al-Mustafa University, told the media that more than 100,000 students from 136 countries were studying at the center.
The Minister of Health then said about the origin of the coronavirus in Qom, although he attributed it to "Chinese carriers", "One of the deaths in Qom was a businessman who had traveled to China via indirect flights."
A city that was not quarantined, a country that has claimed 2,077 victims so far
While speculation about who brought the virus to Qom continued and the number of infected people continued to increase, officials were not unanimous in their decision to quarantine Qom. Qom was not quarantined, and the disease quickly spread to other provinces in the country, with Gilan leading the way.
Officials are now talking about clues that indicate Qom is not the only epicenter of the spread of this virus.
According to the Director General of Public Relations for the Iranian Ministry of Health, so far 43 "healthcare personnel, doctors, nurses, paramedics, and people serving in other units" have lost their lives due to coronavirus.
Jahanpour, spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Health, says that the total number of people infected with the disease in Iran (as of noon on April 27) has reached 27,017, 9,625 people infected with COVID-19 have recovered and been discharged, and of course, 2,077 people have died.
New clues about the origin of Corona in Iran/Monitoring information on "Hantavirus" in ChinaIran
Source: DW
