Coronavirus: Iran opens crisis centre after two die from virus

Three other cases are reported in the country

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  Masked passengers look on from on board the coronavirus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at Yokohama Port, south of Tokyo, Japan, February 20, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

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  Passengers wait for transportation after leaving the coronavirus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at Yokohama Port, south of Tokyo, Japan, February 20, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

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  epa08229502 Australian evacuees from the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess in Japan, disembark the Qantas flight QFA6032 at Darwin International Airport in Darwin, Australia, 20 February 2020. Hundreds of Australian nationals evacuated from the cruise ship will be quarantined at a workers camp in Howard Springs. EPA/HELEN ORR AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

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  Health workers arrive at the newly-built public housing Chun Yeung Estate for quarantining passengers from the cruise ship Diamond Princess, following the outbreak of the new coronavirus, at Fo Tan in Hong Kong, China February 20, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

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  Workers load luggage into a bus as a second group of passengers from the coronavirus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship disembark in Yokohama Port, south of Tokyo, Japan, February 20, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

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  This photo taken on February 19, 2020 shows police officers wearing protective face masks walking with horses on their way to visit residents who live in remote areas in Altay, farwest China's Xinjiang region, to promote the awareness of the virus. The death toll from China's new coronavirus epidemic jumped to 2,112 on February 20 after 108 more people died in Hubei province, the hard-hit epicentre of the outbreak. - China OUT / AFP / STR

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  BEIJING, CHINA - FEBRUARY 19: Chinese men wear protective masks in a residential neighbourhood on February 19, 2020 in Beijing, China. The number of cases of the deadly new coronavirus COVID-19 rose to more than 58000 in mainland China Wednesday, in what the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global public health emergency. China continued to lock down the city of Wuhan in an effort to contain the spread of the pneumonia-like disease which medicals experts have confirmed can be passed from human to human. In an unprecedented move, Chinese authorities have maintained and in some cases tightened the travel restrictions on the city which is the epicentre of the virus and also in municipalities in other parts of the country affecting tens of millions of people. The number of those who have died from the virus in China climbed to over 2000 on Wednesday mostly in Hubei province, and cases have been reported in other countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, India, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and several others. The World Health Organization has warned all governments to be on alert and screening has been stepped up at airports around the world. Some countries, including the United States, have put restrictions on Chinese travellers entering and advised their citizens against travel to China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

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  A pedestrian walks through the 1881 Heritage shopping mall, operated by CK Asset Holdings Ltd., in the Tsim Sha Tsui district of Hong Kong, China, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. Hong Kong is heading for its first back-to-back annual recessions on record, as the coronavirus shutdown cripples an economy already battered by months of political unrest. Photographer: Justin Chin/Bloomberg

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  Pedestrians walk past a Salvatore Ferragamo SpA store on Canton Road in the Tsim Sha Tsui district of Hong Kong, China, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. Hong Kong is heading for its first back-to-back annual recessions on record, as the coronavirus shutdown cripples an economy already battered by months of political unrest. Photographer: Justin Chin/Bloomberg

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  A woman wearing a face mask walks at the Beijing Daxing International Airport, as the country is hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, in Beijing, China February 20, 2020. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

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  A staff member wearing face mask and goggles is seen at a counter at the Beijing Daxing International Airport, as the country is hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, in Beijing, China February 20, 2020. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

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  A man wearing a mask as a preventive measure against the coronavirus?walks at a subway station in Seoul, South Korea, February 20, 2020. REUTERS/Heo Ran

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  This handout picture taken on February 19, 2020 by Daegu Metropolitan City Namgu shows South Korean health officials wearing protective suit and spraying disinfectant in front of the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the southeastern city of Daegu as about 40 new cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus confirmed after they attended same church services. A cluster of novel coronavirus infections centred on a cult church in the South Korean city of Daegu leaped to 39 cases February 20, as the country's total spiked for the second successive day. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Daegu Metropolitan City Namgu" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS / AFP / Daegu Metropolitan City Namgu / Handout / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Daegu Metropolitan City Namgu" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

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  A worker and vehicle spray disinfectant and water as a precaution against the new coronavirus in front of the statue of King Sejong in the Joseon Dynasty, at the Gwanghwamun Plaza in Seoul, Thursday, Feb. 20. The mayor of the South Korean city of Daegu urged its 2.5 million people on Thursday to refrain from going outside as cases of the new virus spike. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has ordered the creation of a "Coronavirus Combat and Prevention Headquarters" to be led by senior ministers and representative of Iran's Armed Forces.

President Rouhani's spokesperson Ali Rabiei has called for "more comprehensive action" and "cooperation from all citizens" to combat coronavirus in country.

The announcement came as the head of the Iranian health ministry's infectious diseases department denied reports that the city of Qom was "being quarantined" due to a Covid-19 outbreak. On Thursday, Iran reported three new cases - two in Qom - a centre for Islamic studies, attracting scholars from Iran and beyond - and one in the capital Tehran.

Reports emerged on Wednesday that two people had died in Iran after testing positive for the new coronavirus in the country's first cases, the countries health ministry had said.

The two were Iranian citizens who lived in Qom, the state YJC news agency reported.

They are also the first deaths from the Covid-19 virus in the Middle East and only the seventh and eighth outside of China, where the outbreak has killed more than 2,000 people.

Kianoush Jahanpour, a ministry spokesman, said the virus was detected in two elderly people with immunity problems in Qom, a city south of the Iranian capital, state agency Irna reported.

"Unfortunately, both passed away in the intensive care unit due to old age and issues with their immune system," Mr Jahanpour said.

He earlier said the "new coronavirus" had been confirmed in two people and that other suspected cases were isolated.

But the head of the health ministry's contagious diseases unit said the pair who died were Qom residents who were not known to have left Iran.

"These two were from Qom and visited us two days ago after falling ill," Mohammed Gouya said.

Another official in Qom said people suspected of being infected with the coronavirus would be put into quarantine in two hospitals.

"The spread of coronavirus in Qom has been controlled and we want the people not to worry about it," said Mohammadreza Ghadir, head of the city's medical sciences unit.

The new coronavirus has now claimed the lives of eight people outside mainland China.

Two have died in Hong Kong and one each in Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines and France.

The UAE last month became the first country in the Middle East to report cases of the new coronavirus strain. Egypt has also reported cases.

Iran's health sector has been hit by sanctions imposed by the US since Washington withdrew in 2018 from a landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.