At a time when the deadly COVID-19 infection has seen a massive outbreak in Iran, with increasing number of confirmed cases and deaths being reported every day, panic has gripped the Middle Eastern nation. The coronavirus infection has spread even to officials working to contain it including Iran's Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi, who showed visible symptoms during televised appearances.
However, if a leaked video doing the rounds on social media is to be believed, then the situation in the country appears much graver than what has come to light. A 1 minute 13 seconds long clip posted by a Twitter user named ALI KHALAF (@alikhalafbs), shows a hospital full of dead bodies spread across several rooms, allegedly of those who died of COVID-19. IBTimes SG could not independently verify the authenticity of the video and is awaiting fact checkers' views.
Bodies everywhere
The video shows the inside of a hospital where numerous body bags containing the supposed remains of coronavirus victims can be seen. As the maker of the video enters the ward and narrates the sight, embalmed bodies in white cloth can be found on stretchers. Medical workers can be seen working and moving around the large room.
A brief glimpse of the room on the right shows medical workers preparing new bodies for embalming. The narrator then traces the length of the ward as more bodies in black body bags with white tags line the floor along the wall.
More rooms full of bodies
Entering the room on the left, the video shows more body bags on the floor with some on stretchers. And as the narrator enters a third room, the sight greeting him is the same. Towards the end of the video, a few coffins can be seen as well. All in all, the clip shows nearly 50 bodies.
Twitter users respond
The video elicited mostly sympathetic responses from many Twitter users. One user wrote: "May God have mercy on them and forgive them and make their rest in Paradise."
Another user said: "Your mercy on the world my Lord ...."
However, some tweets directed their ire towards the Iranian government. One tweet read: "May God overthrow the luck of the government. They are tainted by death, and they are saved from them and saved"
Iran one of the worst-hit countries
The situation worldwide is pretty grim with over 92,000 confirmed cases and 3,131 deaths reported in 77 countries so far. Globally, China has reported the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, 80,151, and deaths due to the deadly infection, 2,945. South Korea is the second most affected nation with the second highest confirmed cases of 5,186 reported so far.
However, Iran is not only the worst-hit region in the Middle East and the world but also the one with the highest mortality rate so far. Of the 2,336 cases reported, 77 have succumbed to the deadly virus.
(Disclaimer: IBT Singapore could not verify the authenticity of the video)
