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Iran has officially reported 26 deaths from the coronavirus as of February 27th. However, much speculation has occurred over the accuracy of these numbers; a member of the Iranian parliament reported that his city, Qom, and the epicenter of coronavirus in Iran, has already experienced 50 deaths from the coronavirus. Additionally, the city of Qom is a popular pilgrimage site for those of the Islamic faith, due to the holy shrines within the city. Iranian officials have refused to place a quarantine over Qom, and instead actually encouraged people to visit and "heal."
Because of all the political chaos, economic turmoil, and widespread government distrust currently occurring in Iran, the COVID-19's spread is especially concerning. Many are worried that already-stressed Iranians could be thrown into mass panic. The Iranian government's handling of the virus has also been heavily criticized for being incompetent and insufficient.
Ekhtebar has also admitted she had a meeting with the Iranian president and his entire cabinet yesterday, potentially infecting all of Iran's senior leadership.
Questions:
1. How would you handle the coronavirus if you were Iran's government right now? Do you agree or disagree with their decision not to quarantine Qom?
2. How is the threat disease different in countries that are already experiencing instability?
3. Do you think Iran's government will be able to stop the spread of the coronavirus? Additionally, what effect do you think the disease will have on Iran's already unstable political climate?
1. How would you handle the coronavirus if you were Iran's government right now? Do you agree or disagree with their decision not to quarantine Qom?
2. How is the threat disease different in countries that are already experiencing instability?
3. Do you think Iran's government will be able to stop the spread of the coronavirus? Additionally, what effect do you think the disease will have on Iran's already unstable political climate?
Sources:
I believe that corona virus is definitely more threatening in countries that are experiencing instability already because the virus would just cause the country to become even more unstable. The chaos and panic would be amplified in a country with preexisting instability. Due to this instability, I think it would be very difficult for Iran to be able to contain the spread of the virus, as the country already has a lot to deal with, and will not be able to focus all of its attention on just the virus' containment.
ReplyDeleteThe threat of this virus is different for many countries, for Iran it would be about economics, governmental distrust and political turbulence. The most concerning is several countries have become the epicenters for the coronavirus because of the choice to hide the infection and death rates and the lack of containment. These countries are now in similar situations to Iran, Japan, South Korea, Italy not to mention the origin of the illness. Many countries face criticism for the slow response, and will effect the country for years to come.
ReplyDelete1. The question of how to handle COVID-19 is an incredibly challenging one. Over the past 2 months it has been proven to be nearly impossible to contain, as demonstrated by its hop from continent to continent. This has happened despite China's best efforts to contain the virus. If I were Iran, I would take similar actions to those of China in order to ensure the protection of my citizens. Civilians would be greatly discouraged from leave their houses and major attractions would be shut down. Because of this I believe that Qom should be shutdown. While the closure of a sacred city would undoubtably upset large sections of the population, a lack of action will only incite more rage from Iranians.
ReplyDeleteHandling the coronavirus won't be easy but they must take stronger precautions. For example, I believe they should quarantine the city even if it goes against their religious ties. I understand why they aren't quarantining it but it'll just get worse if they refuse to do what is best to treat the disease. According to (https://www.vox.com/2020/2/26/21153438/coronavirus-iran-outbreak-pandemic) Iran hasn't been currently treating the disease well which has led to a greater outbreak in that region. Part of this is because of instability and how the government is treating the situation. They must take more precautions.
ReplyDeleteI think it's important to realize that this threat can impact insable countries a lot more than stable ones. This disease can ruin a country and if other countries don't provide aid to them, their country could become overspread with this disease, and become very instable.
ReplyDelete