Iran said the number of patients confirmed to have contracted a variant of the coronavirus originating in the UK has risen to 17. According to the Iranian Health Ministry’s Public Relations Director, Kianoush Jahanpour, at least seven of those cases were identified in Qazvin province, 150 kilometers west of the capital Tehran.
Elsewhere, Health Minister Saeed Namaki sounded louder alarm on those new cases, saying he believes that the real number of the cases caused by the new mutation is greater than what has been established. He warned that several other provinces might have already been infected with “this stubborn” and “potent” version of COVID-19.