13 Oct 2026
Coronavirus: Iran reports two suspected fatal cases at Qom hospital
According to BBC, Iran's health ministry says two people have died after preliminary tests came back as positive for the new coronavirus disease, Covid-19.
Spokesman Kianush Jahanpour tweeted that they died due to their "old age and deficient immune systems" while being treated in hospital in Qom. Deputy Health Minister Qasem Janbabaei told the Young Journalists' Club (YJC) that they were both Iranian nationals.
They were the first two suspected cases of Covid-19 to be announced in Iran. State news agency IRNA reported that they had not travelled abroad or even outside of Qom province prior to their deaths. The agency later said that schools and universities in the province would be closed on Thursday as a precaution against further spread of the disease.
Mr Janbabaei was quoted by the YJC as saying that "for the time being we have no reports at all" of cases outside Qom.
BBC Persian understands that 25 people are being quarantined in the same hospital on suspicion that they might have Covid-19.
Latest news
Latest newsGeorgia’s Constitutional Court Continues Case on Banning Opposition Parties: Political Pluralism at Stake
12.Oct.2026
Azerbaijan and Iran Step Up Security Contacts Amid Hijab Protests
12.Oct.2026
Personnel Shortages Complicate Ukrainian Forces’ Rotation: Ukraine Faces Long-Term Challenges on the Front Line
11.Oct.2026
Trump Eases Sanctions on Russian Fuel After Talks with Putin: Kyiv Fears Boost to Moscow’s War Revenues
10.Oct.2026
Putin Seeks to Strengthen Russia’s Influence in the Post-Soviet Space Through the CIS
10.Oct.2026
Russia and the South Caucasus: External Pressure, Political Competition and a Crisis of Trust
10.Oct.2026
Peaceful Settlement Between Armenia and Azerbaijan: Moving from Declarations to Implementation
10.Oct.2026
Moldova Ready to Accept as Many Ukrainians as Necessary if Situation Worsens This Winter
09.Oct.2026
Turkmenistan Turns Avaza into a Regional Diplomatic Hub as Caspian, Central Asian and CIS Agendas Converge
08.Oct.2026
Romania Scrambles Spanish F-18s After Aerial Targets Detected Near Ukrainian Border
07.Oct.2026
Berlin Deepens Defence Partnership with Kyiv: Germany to Provide Ukraine with €1 Billion in Military Aid
07.Oct.2026
European Parliament Against Georgian Dream: EU Prepares New Response to Tbilisi
06.Oct.2026
Bulgarian Foreign Minister to Discuss European Security and International Law in the Netherlands
05.Oct.2026
Rheinmetall in Bulgaria: Sofia Emerges as a New NATO Defence-Industrial Hub in the Balkans
05.Oct.2026
The Cost of a Long War: Moscow Expands Spending Plans Through 2029
05.Oct.2026