Iranian senior epidemiologist warns against millions of infections in capital in deadly virus • Many hospitals in the country refuse to hospitalize patients with other diseases

Iran tackles the corona epidemic: Masood Mardani, a senior epidemiologist in Iran, warned today that if no significant change is made in the treatment of the plague, 30-4 percent of Tehran's citizens may be infected with the virus.

Photo: Reuters

In an interview with the country's media outlets, the doctor, the head of the Infectious Disease Control Commission in the country, said that by the end of March, between five and seven percent of the capital's population is expected to be over 750,000 people.

Iran's health system is already beginning to show signs of distress in dealing with a large number of patients, and various media outlets in the country have reported that patients with non-corona and non-life-threatening illnesses have been refused treatment and sent home to "treat themselves."

Yesterday, the state released more than 54,000 prisoners, most of them political prisoners or prisoners convicted of negligent offenses, for fear of being infected with the regime's prisons.

The outbreak of the virus also does not overlook the country's top officials. Yesterday it was announced that a senior commander of the Revolutionary Guards basij militia had died of the virus. Twenty-three MPs became ill and at least one of them died as a result. Iran's leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also died of the virus earlier this week.