15 Mar 2020; MEMO: Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior aide of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has tested positive for the coronavirus, Iranian news agencies reported on Thursday.
Velayati, 75, is the president of Masih Daneshvari Hospital in Tehran, and contracted the virus after being exposed to infected patients at the hospital, which is the main centre for treating COVID-19 patients.
Doctors have confirmed that Velayati, who is a paediatrician, was put into quarantine and have described his condition as “good” as he suffers only with mild symptoms.
Velayati is not the first Iranian official who tested positive for the coronavirus.
On Thursday official statistics in Iran stated that 12,729 Iranians suffered from the virus and 611 have passed away.
Meanwhile, an Iranian medical official was reported by the official Iranian news agency, IRNA, stating that 81 Iranians have died due to consuming toxic alcohol amid misinformation that it can cure the virus. The World Health Organisation have denied these claims.
