London: Is Iran trying to conceal the number of deaths due to the outbreak of the deadly novel coronavirus? The official death toll put forward by the country till Sunday stands at over 700 and the number of people affected by the disease a little over 14,000. However, there are enough indications that the figures are far from true.
Satellite images of mass graves in the city of Qom suggest that the coronavirus epidemic is far serious than what the country’s health ministry is saying.
The pictures, of the mass graves first published by the ‘New York Times’, show the excavation of a new section in a cemetery on the northern fringe of Qom in late February, and two long trenches dug, of a total length of 100 yards, by the end of the month. It just goes to prove that the number of deaths in the city is far more than what the authorities are saying.
In fact, a legislator from the city of Qom has contradicted the ministry also in late February. At that point of time, the number of deaths reported in Qom was placed at 12. However, the legislator had then said that the toll was well over 50 and that the authorities were lying.
Since then the situation has only worsened in the Islamic Republic. A 78-year-old member of the Iranian clerical body that chooses the country’s supreme leader has died from coronavirus, the country’s media reported. He was the latest of several senior Iranian officials to have been infected in the worsening outbreak. The toll has jumped by over a 100 in the last 24 hours and the real numbers may be even higher, as some have questioned the government’s reporting.
The semi-official ‘Fars’ and ‘Tasnim’ news agencies reported that Ayatollah Hashem Bathaei, a low-profile, moderate member of the Assembly of Experts, died from the COVID-19. The clerical assembly has the authority to appoint or remove the supreme leader, who has the final say on all major policies.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is 80 years old and has been in power since 1989, wore disposable gloves at a recent public event, apparently as a precaution. Cabinet ministers, members of parliament, Revolutionary Guard soldiers and health ministry officials have been infected, compounding fears about Iran’s ability to fight the disease.
The official leading Iran’s response to the virus had expressed Sunday concerns that health facilities could be overwhelmed if the rate of new cases continues to climb.
“If the trend continues, there will not be enough capacity,” Ali Reza Zali, who is leading the campaign against the outbreak, was quoted as saying by the state-run ‘IRNA’ news agency.
Iran is believed to have around 110,000 hospital beds, including 30,000 in the capital, Tehran. Authorities have pledged to set up mobile clinics as needed.
Agencies
