Iran’s FM Zarif, Chinese Counterpart Discuss Coronavirus Outbreak

In a telephone conversation on Monday night, Zarif and Wang talked about the latest developments concerning the outbreak of a new coronavirus in China and other issues of mutual interest.

The Iranian top diplomat lauded the Chinese government for showing responsibility and making efforts to control the crisis and prevent the spread of the virus, expressing his opposition to the politicization of such issues.

He also praised the government of China for its cooperation in bringing back Iranian nationals from the city of Wuhan, where the outbreak originated.

For his part, the Chinese foreign minister expressed his gratitude to the Islamic Republic for its stance and support.

Earlier on Monday, the Iranian deputy minister of roads and urban development said a special flight will be operated on Tuesday to fetch Iranian students stuck in the Chinese city of Wuhan, which is the epicenter of an ongoing epidemic of coronavirus.

The Hubei health authority said 64 more people died of the coronavirus in China’s Hubei province on Monday, raising the death toll in the epicenter of the outbreak to 414 people.

In mainland China, 425 people have died from the virus. The official global death toll is now 426.

Authorities confirmed an additional 2,345 cases of the virus in Hubei on Monday. That brings the total number of cases in the province to 13,522.

The health authority said 10,990 patients have been hospitalized in Hubei, including 576 who are in critical condition.

There have been more than 19,000 confirmed coronavirus cases globally.