Iran’s parliament speaker has announced early Wednesday that he tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
“One of my office colleagues had contracted coronavirus, and at midnight my test result also came positive,” Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on Twitter early Wednesday, adding that he has quarantined himself.
A few weeks ago, Qalibaf faced criticism from government officials for his visit to a hospital in the capital Tehran.
Mohammad Saeed Ahadyan, political and media assistant to the Iranian speaker, said there was no connection between Qalibaf’s visit to hospital and his infection.
“It’s been three weeks now [since his hospital visit] and there is no connection with it,” he said, according to Anadolu news agency.
“During this period he got himself tested a few times and beside that all protocols were followed [in the hospital] like the medical staff”.
Iran is presently grappling with the third wave of coronavirus with rapid spike in new infections and fatalities in recent weeks.
On Tuesday, the country recorded the highest single-day spike in coronavirus cases (6,968) and fatalities (346) since the outbreak began in mid-February, taking the total number of infections to 581,824 and deaths to 33,0299.
The new surge has prompted government to impose strict restrictions in over 40 counties across the country even though decision on imposing strict lockdown in Tehran has not been taken yet.
Source: Agencies
