Tehran: Trying to stem the outbreak of the new coronavirus, Iran held an online-only briefing Monday by its Foreign Ministry as Britain began evacuating nonessential staff and families from the country which has the highest death toll from the virus outside of China. Iran has reported 978 confirmed cases of the new virus with 66 deaths from the illness.
Across the wider Mideast, there are over 1,150 cases of the new coronavirus, the majority of which are linked back to Iran.
Experts worry Iran’s percentage of deaths to infections, around 5.5 per cent, is much higher than other countries, suggesting the number of infections in the Iran may be much higher than current figures show.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi opened the online news conference addressing the outbreak, dismissing an offer of help for Iran by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
“We neither count on such help nor are we ready to accept verbal help,” Mousavi said. He added Iran has always been ‘suspicious’ about America’s intentions and accused the US government of trying to weaken Iranians’ spirits over the outbreak.
The British Embassy meanwhile has begun evacuations over the virus. “Essential staff needed to continue critical work will remain,” the British Foreign Office said in a statement. “In the event that the situation deteriorates further, the ability of the British Embassy to provide assistance to British nationals from within Iran may be limited,” it said.
AP