Satellite images have appeared of a mass grave in Qom, Iran. This certainly points towards the seriousness of the coronavirus situation in Iran.
During late February, excavation of a new section in a cemetery in Iran's holy city could be seen. Two long trenches were dug at Behesht-e Masoumeh cemetery, about 80 miles south of Tehran, of a total length of 100 yards.
Iran recently announced that the deadly coronavirus claimed another 85 lives, which was the highest single-day toll in coronavirus-affected countries.
International media reports are stating that the Government is trying a 'cover-up' on the coronavirus death toll in Iran, whereas the situation seems to be really grave.
When the trenches were being dug, the health ministry of Iran was accused of lying about coronavirus outbreak in Iran by a legislator. He had stated that when the country was claiming only 12 deaths due to coronavirus; the actual figure stood at 50.
The deputy health minister, Iraj Harirchi, held a press conference where he had "categorically denied" the allegations but all those who attended the conference could see the minister coughing and sweating while doing so, reports state. The very next day, he confirmed testing positive for coronavirus.
Some reports also added that a pile of lime was visible in the images. Lime can be used to manage the decay and odour caused by mass graves and authorities in Iran had confirmed earlier the use of lime when burying coronavirus victims.
Experts also added that this site was apart from the other graves on the site adding that these graves cold have been dug in a haste to keep up with the demands of Iran's increasing death toll everyday.
According to the latest health ministry figures, more than 10,000 Iranians have fallen ill from the virus and 429 have died.
Amir Afkhami, associate professor at George Washington University, said that a reason for Iran's coronavirus outbreak can be the close trading partnership between Iran and China. Due to the ties, the Government feared disrupting the partnership and this probably led to the rapid spread of coronavirus in Iran.
