Iranian health officials in Qom city to the north of Tehran have reported the death of two elderly people after testing positive for the novel coronavirus, despite authorities denying earlier reports of 2019-nCov cases.

Entrance of the city of Qom,#Iran, where earlier today 2 ppl were confirmed having #CoronaVirus and died within hrs of the official announcement. Reports of more cases surfaced DAYS ago but the regime covered up. Now oppressing forces are summoned to combat the disease!#IranTruth pic.twitter.com/O0tnUC0fPI — IranBehtar (@BehtarIran) February 19, 2020

Earlier on Wednesday, Iran has announced the first two coronavirus fatalities in the Middle East, highlighting that the two deceased patients were elderly and suffered immune deficiencies.

There have been at least 12 confirmed coronavirus cases in the Middle East.



🇮🇷2 fatal cases in Iran in elderly Iranian couple

🇦🇪9 cases in UAE: 7 Chinese nationals, 1 Indian, 1 Filipino

🇪🇬1 case in Egypt; WHO says foreigner no longer a carrier pic.twitter.com/bQJKTsKRzo — AJ+ (@ajplus) February 19, 2020

According to the Iranian semi-official Isna news agency, an unspecified number of individuals have been quarantined and are being tested for the new epidemic.

Officials have not offered any more details about the citizens who passed away, neither did they address whether they had traveled to China since the recent outbreak.

#BREAKING: Military in #Iran preparing to quratine Qom after two people suddenly died of #coronavirus today. Highways are being shut down. (DEVELOPING STORY) pic.twitter.com/eCib0GwBQc — 24/7 Crisis News LIVE ☢ (@livecrisisnews) February 19, 2020

Over the past few days, Iranian activists were already sharing news of coronavirus cases in Iran before the government issued statements denying it.

Iranian social media users have also been sharing several videos of the entrance of a hospital being quarantined in Qom.

One of the #CoronaVirus patients who died in Qom,#Iran, today had no foreign travel or any other illness. His brother: Dr told me "we've had several of these cases who didn't survive."

Why a disease with 2% death rate, kills 100% of confirmed cases in Iran, so fast?#IranTruth pic.twitter.com/mcGdEYytsj — IranBehtar (@BehtarIran) February 20, 2020

Meanwhile, some accounts shared unverified details about the two victims, accusing the government of lying about the reality of the disease in the country and for trying to cover up more cases "because they haven't been able to manage the crisis."