Iran announces 3 new cases of coronavirus after 2 deaths
Tehran: Iran said on Thursday that three more people have been infected with the new coronavirus that originated in central China, following an announcement the day before that two people had died of the illness caused by the virus in the Iranian city of Qom.
All schools and universities, including religious Shiite seminaries, were shut down in the holy city of Qom, according to the official IRNA news agency. Other news reports said Iran had recently evacuated 60 Iranian students from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the epicentre of the epidemic.
Qom, located around 140 kilometers south of the capital, Tehran, is a popular religious destination and a centre of learning and religious studies for Shiite Muslims from inside Iran, as well as Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan and Azerbaijan. It is also known for its cattle farms.
An official in Iran's health ministry, Kiyanoush Jahanpour, said on his twitter account that the number of confirmed cases of the virus in Iran was five, including the two elderly Iranian citizens who died on Wednesday in Qom.
IRNA reported that the three new cases are all Iranians residing in Qom, with one of the infected having visited the city of Arak.
Mohammad Mahdi Gouya, Iran's deputy health minister, said they did not appear to have had any contact with Chinese nationals.
Iranian authorities were now investigating the origin of the disease, and its possible link with religious pilgrims from Pakistan or other countries.
Iran's health minister Saeed Namaki said the roughly 60 Iranian students evacuated from Wuhan had been quarantined upon their return to Iran and were discharged after 14 days without any health problems.
Iran once relied heavily on China to buy its oil and some Chinese companies have continued doing business with Iran in the face of US sanctions. Unlike other countries - such as Saudi Arabia, which barred its citizens and residents from travelling to China - Iran has not imposed such measures on travel there.
The new virus emerged in Wuhan, China in December. Since then, more than 75,000 people have been infected globally, with more than 2,000 deaths being reported, mostly in China.
The new virus comes from a large family of coronaviruses, some causing nothing worse than a cold. It causes cold- and flu-like symptoms, including cough and fever, and in more severe cases, shortness of breath.
It can worsen to pneumonia, which can be fatal. The World Health Organisation recently named the illness it causes COVID-19, referring to both coronavirus and its origin late last year.
The virus has had few cases in the Middle East so far. There have been nine cases of the virus confirmed in the United Arab Emirates, which is a popular tourist destination, and one case in Egypt.
Of the nine in the UAE, seven are Chinese nationals, one is a Filipino and another an Indian national.
Meanwhile, Egypt's national air carrier announced on Thursday that it would resume flights to China as of February 27 after nearly three weeks of suspension.
Egypt Air said in a statement it will operate one flight a week between Cairo and two Chinese cities, Beijing and Guangzhou. Before the suspension, the carrier used to operate a daily flight to Guangzhou and three weekly ones to Beijing and Hangzhou.
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
