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Iran’s vice president for women affairs infected with Coronavirus

Tehran – Iran’s vice president for women and family affairs Masoumeh Ebtekar has been infected with the novel coronavirus, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.

Ebtekar who is the first member of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet, was in a meeting with Rouhani and the Iranian cabinet on Wednesday. However, after she was detected with the virus, she was immediately sent to a quarantine facility.

Iran’s former ambassador to Vatican and Khomeini’s former representative in the Ministry of Islamic Guidance Sayyed Hojatol Eslam Hadi Khosroshai died on Thursday due to coronavirus.

Other Iranian officials, including Iran’s deputy health minister, Iraj Harirchi, have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Harirchi on Monday was sweating profusely during a press conference and appeared uneasy.

A member of the Austrian foreign ministry who visited Iran recently has been infected with coronavirus, the Austrian newspaper Kurier reported.

According to a preliminary analysis by Canadian researchers quoted by IranWire, the true number of coronavirus cases in Iran may be upwards of 18,000.