TEHRAN – An official with the Iranian health ministry denied reports claiming that the first case of death has occurred as a result of coronavirus in the country.

Recently, Iran Persian-language newspaper, reported the death of a middle-aged woman suspected of coronavirus in a hospital in Tehran.

“Iran remains clear of the coronavirus,” Kianoush Jahanpour, head of the health ministry's information center, emphasized, noting, there have not been any cases of the virus so far and no suspicious new cases reported in the country over the past two days.

Jahanpour said so far there have been no cases of coronavirus infection in Iran, both among Iranians and foreigners. However, students recently returned from Wuhan will remain in quarantine for another week as the virus has a long latency of 14 days.

An outbreak of the disease, originating at a seafood market, occurred in the central Chinese city of Wuhan; which killed at least 1,113 people and infected 44,653 in China, and about 393 cases have been confirmed in 24 other countries outside China.

The World Health Organization on Tuesday proposed an official name for the illness caused by the new coronavirus: COVID-19. The acronym stands for coronavirus disease 2019, as the illness was first detected toward the end of last year.

According to the WHO, coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.  

Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death. 

Standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.

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