A female member of Iran’s parliament said on Saturday she contracted the COVID-19 (coronavirus) while attending a session of the legislature.
In a video she released yesterday, Massoumeh Aghapur Alishahi the representative of a district in northwestern Iran said she is “certain” she got exposed to the virus during a parliamentary meeting.
Coronavirus has spread to many regions of Iran creating a serious health crisis. With dozens dead, Iran has the highest mortality after China, where the virus originated.
Among close to 600 people officially diagnosed with the illness, there are several politicians and public figures. The spokesman of parliament’s presidium has said that 100 legislators have been tested and five have the coronavirus. He added that these lawmakers will take a second test.
He did not name the five lawmakers but in recent days two well-known members of parliament have announced they have contracted the virus.
Many Persian social media users have criticized that while few people get tested for the virus, the political elite is first in line to take the test.
One newly elected member of parliament who was supposed to start his term soon died of coronavirus on February 28. The city where he lived is one of the hotpots of the epidemic in northern Iran.
