Did Persian Nowruz Aggravate the 2019 Coronavirus Disease Crisis in Iran?

Abstract

Following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis in early 2020 in China, Iran was officially confirming some cases of infection on February 19, 2020, in Ghom - a religious city only 148 kilometers away from Tehran - as a result of the arrival of some flights from China to the city. Almost 2 weeks later, the Iranian Ministry of Health declared that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been transmitted to most of the Iranian provinces.