Iran reports more than 100 new virus deaths as fears mount
Joseph Krauss | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 8 months AGO
People wearing face masks exercise on the shore of an artificial lake, in Western Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 15, 2020. Many people in Tehran shrugged off warnings over the new coronavirus as authorities complained that most people in the capital are not treating the crisis seriously enough. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some it can cause more severe illness. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Israeli policeman walks in front of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, Sunday, March 15, 2020. Israel imposed sweeping travel and quarantine measures more than a week ago but has seen its number of confirmed coronavirus cases double in recent days, to around 200. On Saturday, the government said restaurants, malls, cinemas, gyms and daycare centers would close. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
A bride and groom, right, take a selfie as Municipal policemen order them to evacuate the corniche, or waterfront promenade, along the Mediterranean Sea, as the country's top security council and the government were meeting over the spread of coronavirus, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2020. Lebanon has been boosting precautionary measures including halting flights from several countries, closing all restaurants and nightclubs and tightening measures along the border with neighboring Syria. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
An elderly woman wears a face mask as she shops at a food market in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, March 15, 2020. Israel has imposed a number of tough restrictions to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that schools, universities, restaurants and places of entertainment will be closed to stop the spread of the coronavirus. He also encouraged people not to go to their workplaces unless absolutely necessary. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
CAPTION CORRECTION:CORRECTS BYLINE - A municipal police officer, left, orders a man to leave the corniche, or waterfront promenade, along the Mediterranean Sea, as the country's top security council and the government were meeting over the spread of coronavirus, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2020. Lebanon has been boosting precautionary measures including halting flights from several countries, closing all restaurants and nightclubs and tightening measures along the border with neighboring Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla
A woman wearing a face mask walks through a store in Bamland shopping mall, in Western Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 15, 2020. Many people in Tehran shrugged off warnings over the new coronavirus as authorities complained that most people in the capital are not treating the crisis seriously enough. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A Palestinian walks in front of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, Sunday, March 15, 2020. Israel imposed sweeping travel and quarantine measures more than a week ago but has seen its number of confirmed coronavirus cases double in recent days, to around 200. On Saturday, the government said restaurants, malls, cinemas, gyms and daycare centers would close. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Ultra Orthodox Jews pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Sunday, March 15, 2020. Israel imposed sweeping travel and quarantine measures more than a week ago but has seen its number of confirmed coronavirus cases double in recent days, to around 200. On Saturday, the government said restaurants, malls, cinemas, gyms and daycare centers would close. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
A man stands outside the Holy Edicule, where Chritians belive Jesus Christ was buried, in a deserted church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, Sunday, March 15, 2020. Israel imposed sweeping travel and quarantine measures more than a week ago but has seen its number of confirmed coronavirus cases double in recent days, to around 200. On Saturday, the government said restaurants, malls, cinemas, gyms and daycare centers would close. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
A deserted alley is seen in in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 15, 2020. Israel imposed sweeping travel and quarantine measures more than a week ago but has seen its number of confirmed coronavirus cases double in recent days, to around 200. On Saturday, the government said restaurants, malls, cinemas, gyms and daycare centers would close. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
A guard shuts thne dorr at Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, Sunday, March 15, 2020. Israel imposed sweeping travel and quarantine measures more than a week ago but has seen its number of confirmed coronavirus cases double in recent days, to around 200. On Saturday, the government said restaurants, malls, cinemas, gyms and daycare centers would close. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Ultra Orthodox Jews pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Sunday, March 15, 2020. Israel imposed sweeping travel and quarantine measures more than a week ago but has seen its number of confirmed coronavirus cases double in recent days, to around 200. On Saturday, the government said restaurants, malls, cinemas, gyms and daycare centers would close. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
A man shops at a grocery in Bamland shopping mall, in Western Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 15, 2020. Many people in Tehran shrugged off warnings over the new coronavirus as authorities complained that most people in the capital are not treating the crisis seriously enough. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
People shop at a grocery in Bamland shopping mall, in Western Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 15, 2020. Many people in Tehran shrugged off warnings over the new coronavirus as authorities complained that most people in the capital are not treating the crisis seriously enough. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Two women take a selfie as they wear face masks in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, March 15, 2020. ?Israel has imposed a number of tough restrictions to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that schools, universities, restaurants and places of entertainment will be closed to stop the spread of the coronavirus. He also encouraged people not to go to their workplaces unless absolutely necessary. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
People walk on a highway that is almost empty of cars, east Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2020. Lebanon has been boosting precautionary measures including halting flights from several countries, closing all restaurants and nightclubs and tightening measures along the border with neighboring Syria. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A woman covers her face as she shops at a food market in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, March 15, 2020. ?Israel has imposed a number of tough restrictions to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that schools, universities, restaurants and places of entertainment will be closed to stop the spread of the coronavirus. He also encouraged people not to go to their workplaces unless absolutely necessary. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
A man wears a face mask as he walks along a main street in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, March 15, 2020. Israel has imposed a number of tough restrictions to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that schools, universities, restaurants and places of entertainment will be closed to stop the spread of the coronavirus. He also encouraged people not to go to their workplaces unless absolutely necessary. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
An empty avenue with closed shops is seen in Hadera, Israel, Sunday, March 15, 2020. ?Israel has imposed a number of tough restrictions to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. Netanyahu announced that schools, universities, restaurants and places of entertainment will be closed to stop the spread of the coronavirus. He also encouraged people not to go to their workplaces unless absolutely necessary. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some it can cause more severe illness. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
CAPTION CORRECTION:CORRECTS BYLINE - Municipal policemen, left, order street vendors to leave the corniche, or waterfront promenade, along the Mediterranean Sea, as the country's top security council and the government were meeting over the spread of coronavirus, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2020. Lebanon has been boosting precautionary measures including halting flights from several countries, closing all restaurants and nightclubs and tightening measures along the border with neighboring Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A municipal policeman, center, orders people to evacuate the corniche, or waterfront promenade, along the Mediterranean Sea, as the country's top security council and the government were meeting over the spread of coronavirus, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2020. Lebanon has been boosting precautionary measures including halting flights from several countries, closing all restaurants and nightclubs and tightening measures along the border with neighboring Syria. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A Palestinian health worker sprays disinfectant as a precaution against the coronavirus in a gymnasium in Gaza City, Sunday, March 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
A Palestinian health worker sprays disinfectant as a precaution against the coronavirus in a gymnasium in Gaza City, Sunday, March 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The official leading Iran's response to the new coronavirus acknowledged Sunday that the pandemic could overwhelm health facilities in his country, which is battling the worst outbreak in the Middle East while under heavy U.S. sanctions.
Elsewhere in the region, Lebanon ordered residents not to leave their homes except for urgent necessities and even closed down Beirut's famous Mediterranean boardwalk. Muslim authorities indefinitely closed the Al-Aqsa mosque in east Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam, with prayers continuing to be held on the sprawling esplanade outside.
Iran's Health Ministry on Sunday reported another 113 deaths, the biggest single-day jump in fatalities. That brings the country's total death toll to 724, with nearly 14,000 confirmed cases, one of the worst outbreaks outside China.
“If the trend continues, there will not be enough capacity,” Ali Reza Zali, who is leading the campaign against the outbreak, was quoted as saying by the state-run IRNA news agency.
Iran is believed to have around 110,000 hospital beds, including 30,000 in the capital, Tehran. Authorities have pledged to set up mobile clinics as needed.
Zali acknowledged that “many” who died from the COVID-19 illness caused by the virus were otherwise healthy, a rare admission by local authorities that the virus does not only prey on the sick and elderly.
Health Ministry figures show that while 55% of fatalities were in their 60s, some 15% were younger than 40.
For most people, the virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. Most people recover in a matter of weeks.
The virus has infected more than 150,000 people worldwide and killed more than 5,800. More than 70,000 people worldwide have recovered after being infected.
Dalia Samhouri, a senior regional official with the World Health Organization, said both Iran and Egypt, two of the most populous countries in the Middle East, were likely underreporting cases because of the nature of the virus, which can be spread by individuals who show no visible symptoms.
Egypt’s health ministry on Sunday added 16 more cases of the new coronavirus, bringing the total of confirmed cases to 126, including two fatalities: a German tourist and an Egyptian women, both in their 60s. The ministry said in a statement the new cases include eight Egyptians and eight foreigners. It said that as of Sunday a total of 26 recovered and were discharged from the quarantine.
Iran has struggled to respond in part because of crippling sanctions imposed by the Trump administration after the U.S. withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal. The U.S. says it has offered humanitarian aid but that Iran has rejected it.
Across the Middle East, Lebanon, Iraq, Oman and Qatar imposed new restrictions on movement Sunday. Many countries have already enacted sweeping limits on travel, public events and non-essential businesses. Some have temporarily closed schools and universities.
Lebanon's effective lockdown was put in place after a Cabinet meeting, and appeared to only allow buying food and other essentials. But the announcement said that by late Wednesday, the country's international airport, ports and borders would close and that Lebanese citizens abroad had until then to return home.
Private businesses and Lebanese governmental institutions were shuttered, except those related to making or selling food, bakeries, banks, exchange shops and the central bank.
The small country has reported 99 cases and three deaths. Police used loudspeakers to order people off the Beirut boardwalk earlier Sunday afternoon.
Iraq also announced that it would impose a week-long curfew in Baghdad starting Tuesday at 11 p.m., including all flights at the capital's international airport. All governmental institutions would close except those providing health and security services.
Iraq's Health Ministry had confirmed 124 coronavirus cases and nine deaths as of Sunday.
Both Iraq and Lebanon have been largely in disarray since anti-government protests broke out last year, and Lebanon was already experiencing its worst financial crisis in years before the coronavirus pandemic began.
In the Gulf, Oman state television on Sunday announced a ban on almost all foreigners entering the country. It said only Omanis and citizens of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council could enter the country.
Meanwhile, Qatar announced late Sunday it would stop all passenger flights into the small, energy-rich country beginning Wednesday. Cargo and “transit flights” would be exempt, according to the state-run Qatar News Agency. It wasn’t immediately clear how that would affect the long-haul carrier Qatar Airways.
Qatar now has over 400 confirmed cases of the virus, its Health Ministry said. Qatari and Omani citizens would now be quarantine after returning home.
Qatar separately announced a $20.5 billion stimulus plan to aid its economy amid the outbreak.
Two people were killed in a prison riot in the Jordanian city of Irbid, after officials banned visits to the facility for two weeks as a precaution. The prison service said security forces were still working to gain control of the situation.
The corruption trial for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was postponed for two months due to restrictions on public gatherings. Tests on Netanyahu and those in “close proximity” to him for the virus came back negative.
Israel's confirmed cases have doubled in recent days to around 200.
Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque was the latest in a series of closures or limits at religious sites. Saudi Arabia has suspended the umrah pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina and could be forced to limit or cancel the much larger hajj later this year. On Sunday, it announced the temporary closure of all mosques and called off Friday prayers.
Sheikh Omar Kiswani, the director of the Al-Aqsa mosque, said the iconic golden Dome of the Rock was closed as well.
Outdoor prayers in Jerusalem would continue at the Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray.
The Palestinian Authority has reported 38 coronavirus cases in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, nearly all connected to an outbreak in the town of Bethlehem, where Jesus is believed to have been born. Israel and the Palestinians have largely sealed the town off.
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Krauss reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Aron Heller and Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Jon Gambrell and Fay Abuelgasim in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Samya Kullab in Baghdad; Omar Akour in Amman, Jordan; and Maggie Michael in Cairo contributed to this report.
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The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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