A dire warning was issued yesterday that “millions” could die in Iran if the general public will not adhere to health guidance.
According to AP, this warning was issued by a state television journalist, also a medical doctor, after the faithfuls pushed their way into the courtyards of two major shrines which were closed due to the threat of virus.
"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,", AP reported today.
The death toll in Iran keeps on increasing. A total of 988 Iranians have died among 16,000 diagonsed with the infection. The Iranian state TV journalist, Dr. Afruz Eslami, mentioned a study by Sharif University of Technology, that has built three scenarios. In case of public cooperation, Iran might experience 120,000 infections and 12,000 deaths. If the cooperation was at medium level, there could be 300,000 cases and 110,000 deaths, Dr. Eslami said.
In case of no cooperation, the medical system would be choked leading to 4 million cases, and 3.5 million people may die, Dr Eslami warned.
On Monday night, crowds stormed into the courtyards of Mashhad’s Imam Reza shrine and Qom’s Fatima Masumeh shrine. Hardline clerics are opposing the policy of locking down the shrines.
Iran’s shrines draw Shias from all over the world for pilgrimages, including Pakistan. Most cases diagnosed in Pakistan are among returnees from Iran.
Saudi Arabia has already closed holy sites in Makkah and Madina.