Iran's deputy health minister has tested positive for the coronavirus, as the country struggles with one of the worst outbreaks beyond China
- Iran's deputy health minister said Tuesday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.
- In a video posted to Twitter, and later carried by the Fars state news agency, Iraj Harirchi pledged to overcome his illness.
- Iran is struggling to cope with the outbreak, with at least 16 deaths recorded so far.
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Iran's deputy health minister, and department spokesman, says he has tested positive for the coronavirus, as the country emerges as one of the worst-hit places outside of Asia.
In a video posted to Twitter, carried by Fars news agency, Iraj Harirchi said that he was infected, but that he was confident that he would beat the virus.
"I will certainly defeat corona," he said, according to Bloomberg's Iran reporter Golnar Motevalli.
Iran is one of the worst affected countries, with a flurry of cases confirmed in the last 72 hours, and 16 confirmed deaths.
China remains home to the vast majority of global cases, but Japan, South Korea, Italy, and Iran have all recorded substantial numbers of infections in the past week.
On Sunday, Iran closed schools and universities in 14 proviences and dedicated 230 hospitals across the country to fight the coronavirus, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP.)