Germany, France, and Britain Monday said they will be flying urgent medical supplies to Iran to help it combat the COVID-19 outbreak that has claimed at least 66 lives in the country.
The supplies, which were expected to be delivered Monday, include testing kits, protective equipment and gloves, a statement from the French Foreign Ministry said.
The three countries – the European signatories to the 2015 deal on Iran’s nuclear programme – said they will also be providing financial aid of almost 5 million euros ($5.6 million) via the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other UN agencies to combat the outbreak in Iran.
An adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has died after contracting the novel coronavirus, state radio said yesterday.
Mohammad Mirmohammadi, 71, was a member of the Expediency Council that advises Khamenei.
He is the latest in a string of Iranian officials to have died after contracting the virus.
The virus started spreading through Iran last week, and by yesterday, 66 people were dead and 1,501 cases were confirmed, Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi said, adding that 291 people had recovered.
Iran has the most coronavirus cases in the Middle East, the most deaths outside of China – where the virus originated – and is in an ongoing state of economic crisis.
Iran’s parliament has been suspended until further notice amid the outbreak, and universities and schools nationwide have been closed, according to state media.
All public gatherings, including Friday prayers, have been cancelled to help curb the spread of the disease, the IRNA state news agency reported.
Also Monday, Egypt and Algeria reported new confirmed cases of the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19), increasing the number of recorded patients in Africa.
The Health Ministry in Algeria said, a 53-year-old woman and her 24-year-old daughter have tested positively for the new coronavirus.
It said they live in the city of Blida, some 50 km south-west of the capital, Algiers.
The ministry said they recently hosted a man, 83, and his daughter visiting from France, who were tested positive for coronavirus after their return to France, prompting the health authorities in Algeria to test the hosts.
Only one case had been previously reported in Algeria.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s Health Ministry said a foreigner has tested positive for the new coronavirus, becoming the second case in the country.
The ministry did not reveal the person’s nationality.
Of the more than 88,900 global cases of COVID-19 cases, 90 per cent were reported from China, most of them from the outbreak epicentre in Hubei province.
Outside of China, more 8,700 cases have been reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva, with four countries accounting for 81 per cent of this figure, WHO chief said.
He added that South Korea, Italy, Iran and Japan are causing the biggest concerns.
