Iran virus deaths reach 429, infections pass 10,000
Tehran: Iran announced on Thursday that another 75 people had died of the new coronavirus, bringing the overall number of deaths to 429 out of more than 10,000 infections.
It is the highest single-day death toll in the three weeks since the Islamic republic announced its first deaths from the outbreak last month.
"In the past 24 hours, 1,075 people have been infected with COVID-19... bringing the total number of infected people to 10,075 cases," health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said at a televised news conference.
"Seventy-five people hospitalised in the past few days have lost their lives and today a total of 429 infected people are no longer with us," he added.
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Iran is one of the deadliest outside China, where the disease originated.
Iran announced its first deaths, in the Shiite holy city of Qom, on February 19.
It is yet to officially impose quarantines but authorities have repeatedly called on people to refrain from travelling.
They have closed schools and universities and resorted to shutting hotels and other tourist accommodation to discourage travel.
Ahead of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year holidays that start this year on March 20, authorities in several provinces have issued orders to close hotels and other tourist accommodation.
But on Thursday, health ministry's spokesman Jahanpour said: "Rumours of quarantine of cities and closure of petrol stations are false."
The office of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced Monday that he has cancelled his annual Nowruz speech because of virus and will not travel to Mashhad, his birthplace.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization said Iran was "doing its best" to combat the virus as it called for the country to be given more support.
"We are trying to mobilise more support for Iran," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva, adding that the country needed more supplies.
Iran said on Thursday that it has sought immediate financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund to help it combat the COVID-19 outbreak, in what would be its first such loan in decades.
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Efforts on to bring Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna back to India: Home Minister
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Friday said efforts are on to bring Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who is facing charges of sexual abuse against women, back to India.
He also asserted that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case was functioning efficiently.
The 33-year-old Prajwal, who is the grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former PM H D Deve Gowda, is facing charges of multiple instances of sexually abusing women.
The scandal has raised a political storm with the ruling Congress and BJP-JD(S) engaged in a slugfest.
Prajwal reportedly left for Germany on April 27 and is still at large.
He was BJP-JD(S) alliance's candidate from Hassan Lok Sabha segment, which went to polls in the first phase on April 26.
"Procedures are on, until we secure him, bring him back here and take action in accordance with law, they will continue. We will neither slow it nor stop it," Parameshwara told reporters on questions about the Interpol's Blue Corner Notice that was issued against Prajwal.
On BJP alleging that the government was "responsible" for Prajwal's "escape" from the country, the Minister said, "They will say it, they have to say such things. They cannot say the government is doing a good job. But we have a responsibility as a government. Such incidents cannot be taken lightly. We will do our job."
Accusing the Congress government of trying to tarnish the reputation of Deve Gowda's family instead of ensuring justice to victims of alleged sex videos scandal case involving Prajwal, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy had recently alleged that every bit of information on the investigation is being sent to a Congress MLA of Mandya district, but not the Home Minister.
Reacting to this, Parameshwara said: "Kumaraswamy is also well aware, several things we cannot bring to the public domain, because the investigation is on. Who will brief the Mandya MLA? Making such allegations is easy. We all have responsibility and we are functioning with responsibility, and we are not under any compulsions."
"I want to tell him (Kumaraswamy) that SIT is working efficiently, and whatever they have to brief me or the Chief Minister, they will brief. Let there be no doubts about it," he said.
