Iran has the third-highest number of coronavirus cases outside of China, but the second-highest number of deaths.

Anadolu Agency / Getty Images Health officers, wearing masks and special protective suits, check hospital equipment in Tehran, March 2.

Twenty-three Iranian MPs have so far tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the country's deputy speaker said Tuesday.

Abdolreza Mesri told Iranian state television that the MPs had contracted the virus through contact with their constituents. Iran's parliament has 290 seats.

Staggering! I don’t think any other countries officials have been affected in this way. Iranian state media, quoting deputy speaker of Parliament say 23 MP’s have tested positive for the #coronavirus. That’s not mention other officials who have contracted it or died of #Covid_19.

“These people have a close relationship with the people and they carry different viruses from different parts of the country, which may create a new virus, so we recommend the lawmakers to cut off their relationship with the public for now,” Mesri reportedly told the Young Journalists Club program.



'۲۳ نماینده مجلس ایران کرونا دارند' عبدالرضا مصری نایب رئیس مجلس شورای اسلامی به خبرنگاران گفت تاکنون تست کرونای ۲۳ نفر از نمایندگان مثبت بوده است او گفت نمایندگان "ارتباط تنگاتنگی با مردم دارند و ناقل ویروس‌های مختلفی از نقاط مختلف کشورند که ممکن است ویروس جدیدی خلق شود"

On Tuesday, Iranian health official Alireza Raisi said that there were now 2,336 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, in the country and that 77 people had died.

Peter Aldhous / BuzzFeed News Total cases in China vs. other countries

More people have died in Iran from COVID-19 than in any other country apart from China, where the outbreak originated in late December. But Iran officially has only half the number of cases of South Korea, leading to suggestions that the true amount of people with the virus in Iran may be much higher.

Peter Aldhous / BuzzFeed News Total deaths in China vs. other countries

Last week it was revealed that the head of Iran's anti-coronavirus task force had tested positive for the virus, shortly after downplaying the impact of the coronavirus in Iran.



Atta Kenare / Getty Images Two Iranian women are pictured wearing protective masks while riding a bus in the Iranian capital Tehran, March 2.

Several Iranian officials have died as a result of COVID-19: Mohammad Mirmohammadi, referred to as a confidant of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Hadi Khosroshahi, a senior cleric and the former ambassador to the Vatican. Newly elected MP Mohammad Ali Ramazani Dastak died on Saturday in disputed circumstances, with conflicting reports whether he had flu or COVID-19.

Also on Tuesday, it was reported by the LNA and Tasnim news agencies that the head of Iran's emergency medical services, Pirhossein Kolivand, had been infected with the novel coronavirus.

