Iranian state TV today confirmed that 194 people have died from the killer coronavirus and 6,566 were now infected in the Islamic Republic.
As the Persian New Year approaches, the Health Ministry warned Iranians to avoid large gatherings and stay at home, as fears of the spreading bug intensified.
Regime spokesperson Kianush Jahanpur said 49 people died from the disease today, while 743 people have been added to the total number infected.
Meanwhile, Iran Air has suspended all flights to Europe until further notice, the official IRNA news agency reported, citing the Civil Aviation Organisation.
No mention was made of coronavirus as a cause by the company, which instead cited ‘restrictions’ imposed by European authorities for ‘unknown reasons’.
Pictured: a medic treats a patient infected with coronavirus, at a Tehran hospital, March 8
Pictured: a medic treats a patient infected with coronavirus, at a Tehran hospital, March 8
Pictured: a nurse wears protective gear in a ward dedicated for people infected with coronavirus at a hospital in Tehran, March 8
The European Aviation Safety Agency banned Iran Air aircraft from European airspace on February 3. The ban covered an Airbus A321-200 and two Airbus A330-200 planes that had not undergone upgrades for authorisation to fly in Europe.
On March 2, Sweden said it was temporarily suspending Iran Air flights on the advice of health officials who said Tehran was ‘not in control’ of the outbreak.
The carrier, whose fleet is hit by US sanctions reimposed after Washington quit a nuclear deal with Iran, operates flights to multiple European destinations including Paris, London, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Frankfurt, Vienna and Rome.
MP Tehran MP Fatemeh Rahbar was buried today after dying from coronavirus. Relatives mourned as men in protective suits carried her body to Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery, just outside the capital.
Iran has one of the highest numbers of deaths from coronavirus outside of China. It is the epicentre of the current outbreak in the Middle East.
Pictured: paramedics treat a patient infected with the new coronavirus in Tehran, March 8
Pictured: a nurse wears protective gear in a ward dedicated for people infected with coronavirus at a hospital in Tehran, March 8
Pictured: medics treat a patient infected with coronavirus, at a Tehran hospital, March 8
Pictured: nurses make a heart sign with their hands, in a coronavirus ward in Tehran, March 8
Most of the cases reported in the region are either people who were in the Islamic Republic, or contracted the virus from people who had visited Iran. As a result, several countries have closed their borders with and stopped flights to Iran.
Iranian border guards were spotted wearing protective masks at the Shalamcha Border Crossing with its ally Iraq, after Baghdad closed a border crossing. Guards were photographed hosing the crossing down with disinfectant.
On Friday, Sunni power Saudi Arabia called on citizens to declare visits to Shiite power Iran in the past 14 days, as part of measures to contain the outbreak.
The Saudi Civil Aviation Authority said: ‘If you were in Iran in the past 14 days, take the initiative and declare it; protect your health and the health of your family.’
Pictured: a member Iranian Border Guards wears a protective face mask inside the Shalamcha Border Crossing, after Iraq shut a border crossing to travelers between Iran and Iraq, March 8
Pictured: a worker in a protective suit sprays disinfectant near the gate of the Shalamcha Border Crossing, after Iraq shut a border crossing to travellers between Iraq and Iran, March 8
Pictured: a member Iranian Border Guards wears a protective face mask inside the Shalamcha Border Crossing, after Iraq shut a border crossing to travelers between Iran and Iraq, March 8
Pictured: a man in a protective suit sprays near Shalamcha Border Crossing, March 8
Members of Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minority usually keep their visits to Iran secret, as a bitter rivalry between the two foes has led to regional instability.
Riyadh and Tehran are conducting proxy wars against each other in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, as the pair struggle for mastery of the Middle East.
Their quarrel is exacerbated by religious differences, as both powers accuse the other of persecuting and oppressing their minority sects.
Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran in 2016, after the execution of Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr prompted ‘hostile’ remarks from Tehran.
Pictured: relatives mourn over the body of Fatemah Rahbar, a lawmaker-elect from a Tehran constituency, who died over the weekend, at Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery, March 8
Pictured: men wearing protective gear carry the body of Fatemah Rahbar, a lawmaker-elect from a Tehran constituency, who has died, at Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery, March 8
Pictured: men wearing protective gear carry the body of Fatemah Rahbar, a lawmaker-elect from a Tehran constituency, who has died, at Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery, March 8
Pictured: relatives mourn over the body of Fatemah Rahbar, a lawmaker-elect from a Tehran constituency, who died over the weekend, at Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery, March 8