3 more Iran travelers infected with coronavirus in Bahrain, bringing total to 26

3 more Iran travelers infected with coronavirus in Bahrain, bringing total to 26
February 26, 2020, 10:54 am

Iranian women wear protective masks to prevent contracting a coronavirus, as they walk at Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran February 20, 2020. (File photo Reuters)

Bahrain announced on Wednesday that the number of coronavirus infections has risen to 26 after 3 new cases were confirmed, according to the state news agency (BNA).

The three were identified as Bahraini women who arrived at Bahrain international airport on indirect flights from Iran.

Bahrain had previously reported 23 cases on Tuesday after six more cases came from Iran.

Bahrain taking precautionary measures

Bahrain has announced several precautionary measures to combat the spread of coronavirus, including closing schools, a travel ban from Iran.

Bahrain suspended all private and public schools, universities, and nurseries across the kingdom for two weeks from Tuesday.

Bahrain will test all citizens and residents who traveled to Iran in February to control the spread of coronavirus, announced the Health Ministry on Wednesday, according to Bahrain News Agency.

The ministry provided a hotline for those who have been to Iran this month to schedule test appointments, noting that all citizens and residents must comply with the implementation of all instructions and preventative measures issued by the ministry to ensure the safety of everyone, Bahrain News Agency reported.

Concerns overspread from Iran

Iran, a close neighbor of Bahrain across the Arabian Gulf, witnessed an explosion of cases over the last week.

The Iranian government has officially recorded 95 cases, with 15 deaths, but an Iranian MP alleged that there had been 50 deaths in the city of Qom alone, prompting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to voice concern that Iran is suppressing the details of the outbreak.

The number of people infected with coronavirus in Iran could be as high as 1,500, experts told Al Arabiya English on Tuesday.

“If we assume that the rate of death per case is in the same range in Iran that it is elsewhere, then that implies that there are between 750 to 1,500 symptomatic cases in Iran. But that would be assuming that the Iranian severity is similar to the severity elsewhere,” said Dr. Marc Lipsitch, a professor of epidemiology at Harvard University.

Those infected include Iran's Deputy Minister for Health Iraj Harirchi, according to a tweet posted by an adviser to the health minister and reports from the semi-official news agency ILNA on Tuesday.

source: Reuters

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