Top Iranian Health Official Tests Positive for Coronavirus

Iranian sanitary workers disinfect Qom's Masumeh shrine on February 25.

Photographer: Mehdi Marizan/Fars/AFP via Getty Images

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A top Iranian health official has been diagnosed with coronavirus in another sign the disease may be spiraling out of control in the country.

Iraj Harirchi, a deputy health minister who has been the face of the government’s campaign against the virus, said he tested positive for it late Monday, the day he gave a press briefing on efforts to combat the outbreak.