Newsbrief: Coronavirus response in Iran embroiled in chaos

(Photo: Mahshid Falahi)

by Teja Sandadi
edited by Paul Lambert

The coronavirus is spreading throughout Iran. About three dozen government officials and parliament members have been infected, and 77 people have been killed, according to The New York Times.

An organization called The Health Ministry went to houses trying to contain the disease. A nurse from northwestern Iran sent a note to all her family with a warning about the virus. The warning was originally sent from a national security service. Doctors and others say that people can no longer be trusted with certain things if the disease spreads and if people don’t clean up after themselves. There are many people who are trying to leave Iran, but some countries such as Pakistan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates are not allowing flights from Iran to land. Iran had also released some prisoners for fear that they had the virus. At least two Iranian lawmakers had different claims on the number of deaths and why this may be happening.

“The government is putting religious prestige and public image ahead of public safety,” Amir A. Afkhami, a medical doctor and historian at George Washington University said. “It is unprecedented even in the annals of the Islamic Republic.”