A senior official of Iranian government was infected with coronavirus, the seventh official to test positive from the virus.
Vice President for Women and Family Affairs Masoumeh Ebtekar has been quarantined at her home after testing positive to COVID-19.
The news comes after Iran’s highest-ranking woman in the government was seen sitting with other leaders, including President Hassan Rouhani.
The Health Ministry of Iran has reported 245 confirmed cases with 26 fatalities.
Most of the reported cases were in Qom, a pilgrimage site for Shiite Muslims.
Other Iranian officials were infected including Mojtaba Zolnour, a member of Parliament from Qom and head of Parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee; Mahmoud Sadeghi, a member of Parliament from Tehran; Iraj Harirchi, the deputy health minister who heads the effort to combat the epidemic; Morteza Rahmanzadeh, the mayor of a Tehran district; Dr. Mohamad Reza Ghadir, head of coronavirus management in Qom and director of the city’s state medical university, and Hadi Khosroshahi, a prominent cleric and former ambassador to the Vatican.
Khorsroshahi succumbed to the disease, Iran’s state media reported.
Schools and Friday Prayers were already canceled in Tehran and major cities due to the outbreak.
The Ministry of Culture also announced that all cultural and sports events will remain shut down for another week.
