Iran: ‘Millions could die’ if public travel continues and ignores health guidance
Iran issued its most dire warning yet Tuesday about the outbreak of the new coronavirus ravaging the country, suggesting “millions” could die in the Islamic Republic if the public keeps traveling and ignoring health guidance.
A study from Tehran’s Sharif University of Technology was cited by the doctor who offered several of the Wuhan Coronavirus scenarios, calling this one of the deadliest outbreaks outside of China, where the pandemic originated.
The number of infected in Iran rose to over 16,000 with nearly 1,000 dead.
Iran’s supreme leader issued a religious ruling prohibiting “unnecessary” travel in the country.
Roughly nine out of 10 of the over 18,000 cases of the new virus confirmed across the Middle East come from Iran, where authorities denied for days the risk the outbreak posed.
Officials have now implemented new checks for people trying to leave major cities ahead of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, on Friday, but have hesitated to quarantine the areas.
That’s even as the death toll in Iran saw another 13% increase Tuesday.
Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said the virus had killed 135 more people to raise the total to 988 amid over 16,000 cases.
Jordan meanwhile prepared for a shutdown of its own over the virus, banning gatherings drawing more than 10 people, as neighboring Israel issued its own strict new guidelines for life under the Chinese Coronavirus outbreak.
Dr Afruz Eslami said if people begin to cooperate now, Iran will see 120,000 infections and 12,000 deaths before the outbreak is over. If they offer medium cooperation, there will be 300,000 cases and 110,000 deaths, she added.
But if people fail to follow any guidance, it could collapse Iran’s already-strained medical system, Eslami said. If the “medical facilities are not sufficient, there will be four million cases, and 3.5 million people will die,” she said.
Eslami did not elaborate what metrics the study used, but reporting it on Iran’s tightly controlled state TV represented a major change for a country whose officials had for days denied the severity of the crisis.
[…] 18 March, 2020 TRENDING > Health, Outbreak News, Religion, World […]