Thursday , 28 March 2024

Iran state TV presenter who downplayed coronavirus infected with COVID-19

Al-Arabia – An Iranian state TV presenter who had previously likened coronavirus to the common cold, has been infected with the virus and is currently in quarantine.

https://vid.alarabiya.net/2020/03/23/iran573d058f/iran573d058f___iran573d058f_video.mp4

TV presenter Atefeh Mirseyedi came under criticism for downplaying the threat of coronavirus in the early days of the outbreak in Iran.

“Do not be worried at all. Have patience. It will come and go, just like a common cold,” Mirseyedi said on state TV on February 21, two days after Iran officially acknowledged the spread of coronavirus to the country.

“I think I had it myself. I had the symptoms of a cold two weeks ago, but I got all better,” she said.

Read more: Iranian state TV presenter begs people to stay home due to coronavirus

An official at the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) tweeted on Monday that Mirseyedi has been infected with coronavirus and is currently in quarantine.

At the same time, another IRIB official tweeted that 19 people working at the IRIB news agency have also been infected with the coronavirus.

As of Monday, 1,812 in Iran have died from coronavirus, and there are 23,049 confirmed cases.

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