85 more succumb to virus in Iran
Number of deaths in Islamic Republic rises to 514 even as world toll crosses 5,000
Tehran, March 13: Iran announced on Friday that the new Covid-19 has claimed another 85 lives, the highest single-day death toll in one of the world’s worst affected countries.
“Sadly, 85 people infected with the Covid-19 disease have died in the past 24 hours, bringing to 514 the overall number of deaths in Iran,” health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said in a televised news conference.
“Across the country, at least 1,289 infected people have been added to the list of confirmed patients,” said Jahanpour. “The total number of patients has therefore reached 11,364 cases,” he said, adding Tehran province had the most new infections.
The outbreak in Iran is one of the deadliest outside China, where the disease originated. Several politicians and officials both sitting and former, have been infected, with some dying from the illness. The latest suspected case of infection was Ali Akbar Velayati, who advises Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on foreign policy. Velayati fell ill with “mild symptoms” on Wednesday and has been placed in quarantine, according to Tasnim news agency.
Iran imposes lockdown Tehran, March 13: Iran said Friday the security forces will clear the streets nationwide within 24 hours so all citizens can be checked for Covid-19 — its toughest measure yet to combat the outbreak.
Global deaths over 5,000 Paris, March 13: The death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic has risen to 5,043, according to an AFP tally based on official sources on Friday.
Romanian PM says he will self-quarantine Bucharest, March 13: Romania’s Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said Friday he would self-quarantine after attending the same meeting as a senator from his party who tested positive for the novel covid-19. “I will put myself in isolation (...) while continuing to exercise my duties,” the prime minister told journalists.
120 dead in Spain Madrid, March 13: Covid19 infections in Spain soared to more than 4,200 on Friday, as the number of deaths rose by some 50 percent to 120, the health ministry said.
1st casualty in Sudan Khartoum, March 13: Sudan announced on Friday its first case of the novel Covid-19 following the death of a 50-year-old man the night before. The Sudanese citizen had recently been in the United Arab Emirates, the health ministry said.