Despite official cover-ups on the death toll of the Coronavirus outbreak, the state-run ILNA news agency reported on March 12, 2020 that on the orders of the governor of Khaf, in Razavi Khorassan Province, a large number of graves have been dug on the foothills of Khajeyar Mountains to bury the victims of Coronavirus.
The preparations contradict official announcements of only five cases in Khaf.
Khaf, Khorasan Razavi Province, NE #Iran
Mass graves prepared for #coronavirus victims. Authorities have not shut down a mine in the city, putting the lives of its workers at risk of contracting #COVID19 #CoronavirusPandemic https://t.co/RvDybhiyoU— IRAN HRM (@IranHrm) March 12, 2020
ILNA also reported: “Digging dozens of graves with depth of 4 meters in the margins of Khaf have terrified and panicked people in this region.”
The Washington Post also reported that a number of mass graves have been dug in the city of Qom to bury the bodies of large numbers of victims of coronavirus in this city.
The Al-Arabiyeh website also reported that several weeks ago, and since Iran first announced its coronavirus cases, there have been signs of unnatural activities in a cemetery in Qom which is the epicenter of coronavirus in Iran.
Satellite images also confirm activities by the end of February which show two major ditches each 91 meters in length.
The coronavirus outbreak has claimed the lives of 4,900 people across Iran as the virus continues to spread to more cities.
The Iranian regime announced Iran’s COVID-19 fatalities as 724 across the country and put the number of infections at 13,938.
There is clear and undeniable evidence that the regime knew of the virus weeks before it officially announced it on February 19. The regime refrained from giving information to the people for fear of a low voter turnout in the February 21 parliamentary elections as well as low participation in pro-regime rallies held on February 11, the anniversary of the 1979 Revolution.
Even after acknowledging coronavirus cases, regime officials continued to downplay the situation and figure. The authorities Mashhad and Qom had refused to shut down the holy Shiite shrines that attract millions of pilgrims every year. The measure could have prevented the spread of the virus. Ironically, the caretaker of the Hazrat Masumeh shrine in Qom had even insisted on keeping it open, calling it a “house of healing.”
Iranian authorities are strictly controlling information about the coronavirus and heavily punish anyone who sends news and reports about the number of patients and deaths to the opposition or foreign media. In the past days there have been several reports of people arrested or fired from their jobs for contacting the media or posting pictures and videos of the coronavirus outbreak on social media.
