  Official: Death toll from coronavirus in Iran's Qom stands at 50 February 24, 2020 - 14:00 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - As many as 50 people have died in the Iranian city of Qom from the coronavirus in February, The Associated Press cited Iran’s semiofficial ILNA news agency as saying on Monday, Feb. 24. The new death toll is significantly higher than the latest number of confirmed cases of infections that Iranian officials had reported just a few hours earlier by and which stood at just 12 deaths out of 47 cases, according to state TV. An official from Qom, Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani, was quoted in ILNA saying that more than 250 people are in quarantined in the city, which is a popular place of religious study for Shiites from across Iran and other countries. He said the 50 deaths date as far back as Feb. 13. Iran, however, first officially reported cases of the virus and its first deaths on Feb. 19. The new coronavirus originated in China sometime around December. There are concerns that clusters in Iran, as well as in Italy and South Korea, could signal a serious new stage in its global spread. China had 150 new confirmed coronavirus deaths on Sunday, the National Health Commission announced on Monday, pushing the death toll nationwide to 2,592.   Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads.   Partner news |  Latest news Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims  Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide.Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed.Azerbaijan razes historic Armenian church to ground Azerbaijan has demolished the historic Armenian Church of St. John the Baptist (known as Kanach Zham).Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills |
