Iranian health officials on Friday confirmed three new cases of the dreaded coronavirus after the deaths of two elderly men, as Iraq banned travel to and from its Islamic neighbor. The elderly Iranian citizens were the first confirmed fatalities from the outbreak in the Middle East.
A shutdown of all Shiite seminaries, schools and universities in the holy city of Qom was ordered by authorities, the official IRNA news agency reported. Tehran had recently ordered the evacuation of 60 Iranian students from Wuhan, the Chinese city where the coronavirus is believed to have originated.
Yet Iranian health authorities have not carried out adequate measures to contain the spread of the virus. Parliamentary elections were conducted on February 21, and Iranian lawmakers did not want to affect voter engagement. As the situation in the country worsens, Iraqis are demanding that stronger action be done to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
A representative from Iran's Ministry of Health, Kianush Jahanpour, said the other case was in Arak, south of Qom. "There were five cases in total, of which two have been fatal," Jahanpour stated.
Qom is Iran's center for Islamic studies and a popular religious destination, attracting scholars from inside Iran and other regions such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. Qom is also popular for its vast cattle farms. However, authorities said the deceased persons had not left the country.
On February 19, Iraq's Ministry of the Interior has ordered a full suspension in the issuance of visas to Iranians as a safety measure, a ministry document showed. Starting February 20, Iraq's border with Iran will be closed. Iraq's Ministry of Health called on government officials to shut down all boundary crossings with Iran until further notice. The Iraqi civil aviation office also suspended all incoming flights from Iran.
Iraqi nationals are also prohibited from traveling to Iran, health ministry officials said. The border closure followed a backlash against an announcement of visa issuance suspension for Iranian nationals who want to travel to Iraq.
Iraqis took to social media with the hashtag "close the border" and local authorities called for a total prohibition on the entry of products and individuals through various border entry points with its Islamic neighbor. Iraqi airports have already monitored travelers for the coronavirus and national airliner Iraqi Airways has stopped all flights to Iran.
In Kuwait, national carrier Kuwait Airways announced it was also suspending all flights to Iran, while its seaports will also be shut down to passengers who wish to travel to and from the country.
