Iran parliament says virus deaths grossly underreported

tehran — The death toll in Iran from the coronavirus pandemic is likely nearly double the officially reported figures, due to undercounting and because not everyone with breathing problems has been tested for the virus, a parliament report said.

Iranian health officials offered no comment on the report, released on Tuesday, which represents the highest-level charge yet from within the Islamic Republic’s government of its figures being questionable, something long suspected by international experts. Iran on Wednesday put the death toll at 4,777, out of 76,389 confirmed cases of the virus — still making it the Mideast’s worst outbreak by far.

The report comes as Iranian Virus deaths President Hassan Rouhani contin- on Wednesday ues to push for a slow reopening of the country’s economy, which remains targeted by crushing US sanctions. If its own figures offered to the World Health Organisation are wrong, it adds to fears by some that encouraging people to return to work will spark a second wave of infections.

“In order to have more compatibility between protocol and estimated statistics, it is necessary to increase laboratory and testing capabilities in the country,” the report said. “Needless to say that through increasing the capacities, diagnosis of disease will be more possible and spread of the disease will be more limited.”

The report by Iran’s parliament research centre, published online, carries the weight of being written by nonpartisan experts within the country. Already, hard-liners have seized on Rouhani’s handling of the pandemic to criticise him and his administration, which is held in poor regard after his 2015 nuclear deal with world powers collapsed. —

76,389

Confirmed corona virus cases in Iran

4,777

People died of virus in Iran 94