(Bloomberg) -- Iran has released two Chinese women quarantined on suspicion of carrying the novel coronavirus and has no known cases, according to its deputy health minister, Alireza Raeesi.
The Health Ministry has asked the government to ban all non-essential travel to China, while 70 Iranians living in Wuhan, mostly students, are expected to return next week, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
The two women were treated in the eastern province of Tabriz after arriving from neighboring Azerbaijan, IRNA reported on Thursday. But Raeesi said the women had influenza B and had been released.
The virus, which originated in Wuhan, has spread across the globe and claimed more than 200 lives.
To contact the reporter on this story: Yasna Haghdoost in Beirut at yhaghdoost@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Mark Williams
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