Page 8 - IRANRptMar20

Banks in the country are working on reduced hours, Banker.ir reported earlier on March 1.
2.4​ ​Iran rocked by coronavirus outbreak; OPEC gathers
Can the figures be trusted?
Can Iran contain the outbreak?
OPEC struggles to find agreement while the disease spreads, and its next meeting will be important.
What: The virus and the resulting economic fallout have provided a perfect storm Why: Economic and social activity have ground to a halt in those countries most affected
What Next: OPEC and its allies will hopefully find agreement on output cuts.
Iran has recorded the second highest number of coronavirus deaths outside China and is struggling to contain the disease. This is raising fears that the outbreak will spread to neighbouring countries where fragile health systems and weak government control would make fighting the deadly illness even more difficult. By March 1 Iran’s official health service admitted to 54 deaths from the virus; most of these are from the capital, Tehran, and the city of Qom, where cases of covid-19 first emerged in the country. Qom receives business travellers and Islamic pilgrims from all over the globe and has the highest number of Shia Muslim clerical students in the world. A few hundred of those students are believed to be Chinese nationals.
After weeks of denying that any Iranian had been diagnosed with coronavirus, health ministry officials confirmed that two people had tested positive for covid-19 in Qom on Wednesday last week. Later the same day the officials confirmed their deaths. The short time between the confirmation of the infections and the deaths puzzled many in Iran and fuelled public suspicions that officials had intentionally hidden the presence of the virus for some weeks.
Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi was filmed mopping his brow at a news conference before testing positive for coronavirus disease, and Vice-President for Women's and Family Affairs Masoumeh Ebtekar announced that she, too, had contracted the coronavirus. There is concern that the virus will spread further within the government. A day before confirming she had tested positive for the virus, Ebtekar attended a cabinet meeting with President Hassan Rouhani and other cabinet ministers. The health ministry categorically denies that it has hidden coronavirus cases and insists people’s health is its top priority.
Iran has a well-developed health sector, and has recent experience of controlling the outbreak of diseases. It eradicated polio in the first decade after the revolution and last year prevented the spread of type-B flu. But its capacity to contain coronavirus is less certain. Iran is struggling under the economic impact of US sanctions and Iranians are increasingly concerned that restrictions will lead to shortages of vital medical supplies. Iran has granted top priority to its food and medical sectors, while European pharmaceutical companies have waivers from the US to supply Iran with medicines. Friday prayers in Tehran and 22 other cities were cancelled, and schools and universities closed.
The head of the World Health Organization's (WHO) emergencies programme, Dr Michael Ryan, said on Thursday that the apparent high mortality rate in Iran indicated its outbreak might be more widespread than realised. A WHO
8​ IRAN Country Report​ March 2020 www.intellinews.com