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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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.
