Coronavirus: 15 million Iranians may have had Covid-19, official says

Iran is one of the hardest-hit nations in the Middle East with more than 175,000 confirmed cases

Iranians, walk along in the capital Tehran on June 3, 2020. The spread of the novel coronavirus has accelerated again this month in Iran, which today confirmed more than 3,000 new cases for a third consecutive day. AFPShow less

Almost one in five Iranians may have been infected with the novel coronavirus since the country’s outbreak started in February, a health official said on Tuesday.

“About 15 million Iranians may have experienced being infected with this virus since the outbreak began,” said Ehsan Mostafavi, a member of the task force set up to combat Covid-19.

This meant the virus was “much less lethal than we or the world had anticipated”, the semi-official Isna news agency quoted him as saying.

The figure represents 18.75 per cent of the more than 80 million population of Iran, which on Tuesday announced another 74 deaths from the coronavirus.

Mr Mostafavi said it was derived from serology tests to identify antibodies in patients who have recovered from the illness.

These differ from polymerise chain reaction tests, which detect the presence of an antigen.

Iran says it has carried out more than one million PCR tests to “confirm” infections and report them so far.

Health ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said 74 new coronavirus fatalities in the past 12 hours had raised the overall death toll to 8,425.

Cases of infection rose by 2,095 over the same period to total 175,927, she said.

Coronavirus in the Middle East 

Palestinian women walk next to a graffiti painted by artists amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, in Gaza City. EPA

Iraqis gather at a coffee shop in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. AFP

Iraqi security forces are deployed to enforce an extended curfew amid the pandemic, in Baghdad. AFP

Men walk by covered stalls in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. AFP

Palestinian families enjoy their time at the beach amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in Gaza City. EPA

Medical staff and patients listen to Ghada Harb, the leader of the Syrian Ghardenia female choir, and the singers of her group as they perform outside of the Children's Hospital in Damascus, Syria, as part of the official 'The culture at your house' initiative aimed at thanking medics and nurses for their efforts in these times of crisis. EPA

Ghada Harb, the leader of the Syrian Ghardenia female choir, and the singers of her group perform outside of the Children's Hospital in Damascus, Syria. EPA

A woman and her child are sprayed with disinfectant as they enter a nursery after the government eased the coronavirus restrictions in Amman, Jordan. Reuters

A teacher wearing a protective suit interacts with a child at a nursery after the government eased the coronavirus restrictions in Amman, Jordan. Reuters

A woman buys vegetables from a cafe transformed into a fruit and vegetable shop in Cairo, Egypt. Reuters

Egyptians wearing protective face masks stand outside a post office in Cairo, Egypt. EPA

Students wearing face masks sit at a classroom at the Tunis Al-Manar university complex in Tunis, Tunisia, after authorities eased measures put in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus pandemic. EPA

Tunisian player Naim Selliti attends a training session at the Elmanzeh stadium in Tunis, Tunisia. Tunisian national football team resumed training on Monday. EPA

A Tunisian public health worker disinfects El Menzah Olympic Stadium in Tunis. EPA

Ms Lari replaced Kianoush Jahanpour as the health ministry’s representative on Tuesday, a ministry statement said.

Health Minister Saeed Namaki called on her to “avoid politicisation” of issues and to co-ordinate with him “before making any remarks on social media or to the press,” it said.

Mr Jahanpour had come under fire in March after saying China’s reporting of its Covid-19 figures was a “bitter joke”.

He was slammed on Twitter by the Chinese ambassador to Tehran, Chang Hua, and later retreated by praising Beijing for its support of Tehran during the pandemic.

Iran-China relations are usually warm as Beijing is one of Tehran’s top trade partners, especially in oil.