COVID-19: Iranian Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf Tests Positive

The speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, announced Wednesday that he had been infected with the novel coronavirus.

"One of my office colleagues became infected with the coronavirus, and at midnight my test result was announced and the Corona was positive," Ghalibaf wrote on Twitter this morning.

"I am currently in quarantine and, God willing, I will pursue my duties."

The Iranian Ministry of Health announced, Tuesday, in a press briefing on the latest developments in the Covid-19 crisis, that it had recorded a record number of infections on a daily basis after 6,968 new infections were detected.

The Iranian health authorities said that the capacity of hospitals in many regions of the country to absorb Covid-19 cases is running out, while the novel coronavirus has started to cause about 300 deaths a day, that is, one death every five minutes.

The Iranian authorities complain of laxity in the restrictions of social distancing, and Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi said that the pandemic may cause 600 deaths per day in the coming weeks unless Iranians adhere to the country's health protocols.

Sima Sadat Larry, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health, told state television that 32,616 people have died from the virus, and that the total confirmed cases have reached 568,896.