Three Iranians Infected With Coronavirus In Qom, Arak Cities - Health Ministry Official

Three Iranian citizens were infected with the novel coronavirus, officially dubbed COVID-19, in the cities of Qom and Arak, Iranian Health Ministry Information Public Relations Head Kianush Jahanpur said on Thursday, adding that 19 people were currently being tested for the virus

TEHRAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th February, 2020) Three Iranian citizens were infected with the novel coronavirus, officially dubbed COVID-19, in the cities of Qom and Arak, Iranian Health Ministry Information Public Relations Head Kianush Jahanpur said on Thursday, adding that 19 people were currently being tested for the virus.

"Three hospitalized patients in Qom and Arak are [infected with] COVID-19," Jahanpur said in a statement, adding that these individuals were Iranian citizens, one from Arak and two others from Qom.

He also said that one of those infected was a doctor who had examined two Iranians who died on Wednesday from the virus. According to the official, 19 people are currently being tested for COVID-19.

On Wednesday, media reported that two Iranian residents of Qom had died in Iran from the coronavirus.

Earlier in the day, a member of the National Committee on Infection Diseases at the Iranian Health Ministry, Masoud Mardani, told Sputnik that they had not had any contact with Chinese citizens or people who have visited China.

Meanwhile, Alireza Vahabzadeh, an adviser to Iran's health minister, told Sputnik that the exact source of the coronavirus transmission to Qom remains unknown.

COVID-19 was first detected in Wuhan, located in China's Hubei Province, in late December and has since spread to more than 25 countries. According to China's health authorities, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in mainland China has crossed 74,000, with over 2,100 patients having died.