As Coronavirus fear looms over the world, satellite images show mass graves in Qom, a city in Iran. The pictures show a new section in a cemetery on the northern fringe of Iran in February. Two long trenches with a total length of 100 yards were dug by the end of the month. It is believed that the number of people who died due to COVID 19 is a lot more than what the government claims. The images of mass graves capture by the satellites are believed to be proofs of the death caused due to coronavirus. Coronavirus Outbreak in Iran: Lawmaker Fatemeh Rahbar Dies of COVID-19.

A legislator from Qom, 120 km south of Tehran had accused the health ministry of lying about the scale of the outbreak saying there had already been 50 deaths while the ministry was claiming only 12 people had died in the country due to the virus. Iraj Harirchi, deputy health minister held a press conference to deny the allegations while sweating and coughing. The next day, Harirchi confirmed that he had tested positive for the COVID 19 virus. Coronavirus : Iran Rejects Reports of Deportation of Indians.

Satellite Images Showing Huge Mass Graves in Iran:

A number of government officials have died in the incident including members of the Iranian parliament, the Majlis, a former diplomat and a senior adviser to the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. Khamenei adviser and one of the leading voices in Iranian foreign policy, Ali Akbar Velayati, was reported on Thursday to have been infected. Most top-ranking officials in Iran's clerical leadership are advanced in age making them vulnerable to the deadly disease. According to Iran's health ministry, 429 have died from the virus and 10,000 are infected.  Coronavirus Outbreak in Iran: Hossein Sheikholeslam, Adviser to Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Dies of COVID-19

The Guardian quoted Dr Afkhami, an associate professor at George Washington University, as saying, "It doesn’t surprise me that they are now trying to create mass graves and trying to hide the actual extent of the impact of the disease."

Dr Afkhami said, "Because of China’s status as the country’s principal commercial partner, the Iranian government took inadequate cautionary measures to restrict and monitor travellers from China. Then, later on, Tehran’s lack of transparency and unwillingness to take robust measures such as social distancing and quarantine, particularly at the epicentre of the outbreak, helped spread the virus."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 13, 2020 05:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).