No Positive Cases of Coronavirus Observed in Iran So Far: Minister

“No positive cases of infection with the coronavirus has been observed in Iran till now, February 8,” Namaki said.

He also vowed that he will inform the people as soon as any infection is confirmed in Iran.

The minister further noted that the Iranian university students who were repatriated from China were quarantined in an appropriate location, and they had their samples taken.

“Today, new samples will be taken from them,” he said.

“So far, the samples taken from the university students have shown no coronavirus contamination,” he noted.

A Mahan Air flight on Wednesday evacuated dozens of Iranian citizens, along with a number of Iraqis, Syrians and Lebanese nationals, from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak of novel coronavirus.

The plane landed in Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport early Wednesday.

Kianoush Jahanpour, the head of the Iranian Health Ministry’s Public Relations Department, told ISNA the passengers were transferred to a special site for initial checks, which are currently underway.

Mohammad Mahdi Gooya, the head of the Health Ministry’s Communicable Diseases Centre, said none of the 50 Iranians evacuated from China were diagnosed with coronavirus.

He said they will still be quarantined for two weeks.

The death toll from the month-long coronavirus outbreak has continued to climb in China, rising to 722. New cases have surged by double-digit percentages in the past two weeks, with no sign of a slowdown.

So far, over 34,000 people are known to have been infected.