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Visibly Ill Iranian Health Minister Downplays Coronavirus Risks, Tests Positive

Updated September 7, 2021

Few things have been able to dominate headlines for weeks at a time, but then, the world hasn't seen the outbreak of a disease like the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, in quite some time. Its spread has been rapid and in China, which has been hardest hit by far, the government is treating its threat with the utmost gravity, locking down tens of millions of people and instituting travel bans, among other measures intended to slow the disease's spread.

Outside China, however, governments are trying to walk a tightrope between preparing their citizens for the potential of a wider outbreak without encouraging outright panic.

Iran's efforts might not have done much to quell fears, at least so far.

It's unknown how many cases Iran has seen so far, but the shrine city of Qom has become the center of a controversy there.

A lawmaker representing the area recently accused the government of covering up the severity of the outbreak in the nation, claiming that just the city of Qom had seen 50 coronavirus deaths so far.

Iran has seen a dramatically higher mortality rate with coronavirus.

The official count has Iran at 139 total cases with 19 deaths to date, which is the second-most deaths to China despite there being three other countries and one cruise ship with more cases.

Iran's coronavirus fatality rate stands at about 16%, NBC News reported, compared to a fatality rate of about 2% in China and 1% in South Korea.

And so, facing some serious questions, Iran's health officials tried to counter the notion that they were covering anything up.

Unfortunately, during a press conference held to reassure the public and downplay the severity of coronavirus in Iran, the country's deputy health minister, Iraj Harirchi appeared feverish and unwell, stopping at one point to wipe his brow. While he tended to himself — maskless — Ali Rabiei, Iran's Minister for Social Welfare, stood next to him and continued the briefing.

Turns out, Harirchi was, at that moment, coming down with the coronavirus.

He later confirmed that he had tested positive for the disease.

"I wanted to tell you that I got corona," Harirchi said in a statement, The Guardian reported. "I had a fever yesterday. The tests came back positive last night. I isolated myself. Just a few moments ago, I was told that the final test came. I'll start taking medicine. Generally, I feel fine. I just felt a bit tired, I had a fever, and it will drop.

"We'll defeat corona. Be assured," he continued. "I'm saying this deep from my heart. This virus is democratic, and it doesn’t distinguish between poor and rich or statesman and an ordinary citizen."

Experts have suggested that appearances of a cover up in Iran may be more due to a lag in reporting.

While the Health Ministry has indeed banned the release of case numbers in Qom, the country's testing process isn't helping, as "most of the tests have to be done in Tehran, and Tehran announces it," said the University of Qom's Reza Ghadir.

As well, many cases may well go untested altogether, as many in smaller villages wouldn't go to hospitals, and health officials wouldn't be available to count cases there.

h/t: NBC News, The Guardian

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