Iranian vice president tests positive for coronavirus

By Ahmet Dursun

ANKARA (AA) - Iran's Vice President for Women and Family Affairs Masoumeh Ebtekar has tested positive for the coronavirus, an official said on Thursday.

Speaking to Iran's official IRNA news agency, Ebtekar's adviser Fariba Ibtihaj said the vice president tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.

"Everyone in the vice president's team was also tested and the results will be available on Saturday," she said.

Ebtekar is not the first high-ranking Iranian official to contract the virus.

On Tuesday, Iran’s Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi and another lawmaker, Mahmoud Sadeghi, tested positive for the coronavirus.

Iran has seen a spike in COVID-19 cases over the past week and the number of infected people in the country reached 245 on Thursday.

The country’s Health Ministry also confirmed 26 deaths due to the coronavirus.

Iran is one of over 35 countries that account for the nearly 80,000 COVID-19 cases confirmed around the world.

The global death toll is nearly 2,800, and China, where the outbreak originated, is the worst hit, with more than 78,000 cases and over 2,700 fatalities.

The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak an international health emergency and said the global risk level remains high.