TEHRAN: Iran’s deputy health minister has been infected with the Covid-19 coronavirus, a ministry official said on Tuesday, amid a major outbreak in the Islamic republic. “The coronavirus test for Mr Harirchi, the deputy health minister who was on the front lines combating the coronavirus, was positive,” Alireza Vahabzadeh, a media adviser to the health minister, said in a tweet. The Islamic republic has been hit by the deadliest coronavirus outbreak by far outside China. According to the health ministry, most of the deaths and infections outside Qom are among people who have recently visited the holy city. Despite being Iran’s epicentre of the outbreak, Qom has yet to be quarantined.

Source: New Strait Times February 25, 2020 13:30 UTC