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Iran asks for billions in loans as coronavirus deaths climb to 429

A man wears a mask to help protect himself from the new coronavirus looks towards at Beirut's seaside corniche, or waterfront promenade, along the Mediterranean Sea, is almost empty of residents and tourists in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, March 12, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A man wears a mask to help protect himself from the new coronavirus looks towards at Beirut's seaside corniche, or waterfront promenade, along the Mediterranean Sea, is almost empty of residents and tourists in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, March 12, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) A man wears a mask to help protect himself from the new coronavirus looks towards at Beirut's seaside corniche, or waterfront promenade, along the Mediterranean Sea, is almost empty of residents and tourists in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, March 12, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

By NASSER KARIMI and AYA BATRAWY / Associated Press 5 min read

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran said Thursday it had asked for an emergency $5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to help fight the spread of a new virus that’s swept across the country, infecting more than 10,000 people and killing hundreds.

Iran’s Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour announced in a now-daily televised news conference that 75 people had died in the past 24 hours and more than 1,000 new cases of infection had been confirmed, pushing the death toll to 429 and confirmed cases to 10,075.

In a tweet Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif urged the IMF to “stand on right side of history & act responsibly” by releasing the funds through the international lender’s Rapid Financial Instrument. Iran’s Central Bank chief Abdolnasser Hemmati said Thursday he made the request for $5 billion last week in a letter to IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva. The IMF has said it stands ready to support countries battling the virus.

Zarif has urged countries to assist Iran with N95 face masks, ventilators, surgical gowns, testing kits, portable digital X-ray machines and other needed medical supplies. The World Health Organization recently sent a shipment via an Emirati cargo plane full of medical gear to Iran, including 1,100 virus testing kits that can test more than 105,000 people.

Iran’s economy has been battered by U.S. sanctions, which have choked Tehran’s ability to sell its oil. The recent outbreak of the virus there has compounded its economic woes, with all of Iran’s neighbors closing their borders to Iranians and multiple nations cutting travel links with Iran, including shipping in some cases, which is affecting imports, as well.