Coronavirus outbreak: Death toll in Iran rises to 12 amid surge in cases

Iran has confirmed that the death toll from coronavirus outbreak has increased to 12 on February  24. Iran's health ministry on Sunday confirmed the death toll from the new virus to 8 which created fears in the middle east nations, as per reports. Kianoush Jahanpour, the health ministry spokesperson told the media that there were now 43 confirmed cases of the illness in Iran. The outbreak in Iran is believed to have emerged from the holy city of Qom, where the officials said that travellers from China brought the new coronavirus. Iran reported its first case of the virus last Wednesday.  

READ: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey Close Borders With Iran Over Coronavirus Fear

Countries seal its borders

In a bid to curb the spread of Coronavirus, Turkey on Sunday closed its borders with neighbouring Iran joining Pakistan and Jordan. Meanwhile, Afghanistan announced that it would suspend all its flight operations with Iran after the number of cases in the Shiite country surged recently. Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca while speaking to international media said that the country has decided to shut the land border temporarily after an increase in the number of cases in Iran. He added that the country was alarmed by growing numbers of cases and was forced to take the measures after speaking with Iranian authorities.  

According to reports, the land and railways borders will be closed from 5 pm local time on Sunday. Air traffic from Iran into Turkey was halted from 8 pm local time on Sunday though departures could continue. Meanwhile, Turkey’s Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan reportedly said exports from Turkey to Iran would continue in a ‘controlled way’.

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Jordan imposes temporary ban

Jordan has reportedly barred travellers to Tehran in a preemptive measure. The country’s Minister of State Affairs, Amjad Adayleh, said the decision was part of preemptive measures, following the risk in cases of Coronavirus in South Korea, Iran and China. He further told international media that the temporary ban would be imposed on all Non-Jordanian citizens coming from the three nations. The minister said that even citizens who come from those countries would be quarantined for two weeks to ensure that they haven’t contracted the virus on their trip abroad. 

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