Iran: 5 Revolutionary Guard members die of coronavirus

ISTANBUL

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (RGC) on Wednesday said five of its members died of the coronavirus.

Five of the RGC members who had taken part in the fight against the coronavirus and some members of RGC-affiliated Basij militia have died of the coronavirus, Defapress news website quoted RGC spokesman Ramadan Sharif as saying.

Some other members contracted with the virus are under observation in hospitals, Sharif added.

Currently, a total of 100,000 RGC members and Basij across the country are taking part in the ongoing efforts to curb the outbreak of coronavirus, he added.

Turkey, which has just a single confirmed case of coronavirus, closed its land borders and suspended air travel to Iran last month.

Besides China, Italy, and South Korea, Iran is the worst-affected country since the outbreak of the disease last December.

As part of its efforts to contain the virus, Tehran has taken several measures, including the closure of all schools and higher education institutions, calling off sports events, and banning government officials from leaving the country.

The novel coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China, last December and has now spread to more than 100 countries.

The global death toll is now almost 4,300, with around 118,000 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

On Monday, the head of the WHO said with the number of countries affected by the virus, the “threat of a pandemic has become very real.”

* Writing by Zehra Nur Duz from Ankara