FILE PHOTO: Members of the medical team spray disinfectant to sanitize outdoor place of Imam Reza's holy shrine, following the coronavirus outbreak, in Mashhad
BBC News reported on March 3 the incident in Iran wherein two men licked the gates of Masumeh Shrine in the city of Qom and posted a video of it and has already more than a million views. Before licking and kissing the gates the man even said, "I'm not scared of coronavirus."
Anothr video has also surfaced when a man filmed himself at a shrine on Masshad and said that he came there to lick the shrine, "so the disease can go inside my body and others can visit it with no anxiety."
These men may have been one of those people who are spreading wrong information and superstitious news against the government by doing unconventional acts, said by MP Hasan Nowrozi. He also added that the punishment that the two men will face are two months up to two years of imprisonment and 74 lashes.
Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad shared the video of the two men which led to their arrest. Their video began to circulate online earlier this month as Iran continues to work in containing the spread of the coronavirus.
"Arresting these two people is not enough as the religious centers are still open in Qom and other cities where people are suffering from coronavirus," Alinejad said in an interview.
Iran already recorded one of the highest numbers of confirmed cases outside China with at least 77 deaths and 2,336 cases.
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The country's government has already taken some measures to protect those who will visit the shrines but there has not been a complete closure. But some clerics believe that these shrines have divine powers to cure diseases and millions of people stay hours at the shrine to offer a prayer and kiss or touch them.
Social media users have already criticized the government for not taking the same measures as what other countries are doing. Just the other week, Saudi Arabia has already temporarily stopped Muslims from visiting holy cities of Mecca and Medina, and in some parts of Italy, masses are temporarily suspended.
One post on twitter has urged the government to react rapidly to this situation while another one supports the continued visits to shrines with the belief that Shia is the purest religion in the world and their thoughts are based on its divine teachings.
Schools and universities have already suspended their classes while the use of shisha pipes has been banned in Tehran.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said there are no plans to quarantines towns and cities yet but people are still advised not to attend large gatherings, and the use of hand gels and masks are being encouraged.
On March 2, the World Health Organization has arrived In Iran to provide help and support which includes protective equipment to health professionals and also to give diagnostic kits.
Doctors and nurses have also started an online dance challenge in an effort to boost morality among medical teams and people amid the coronavirus outbreak. This was met by a positive response from netizens and wished the health workers good health.
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