(CNN)Iran has been rapidly expanding a major cemetery in Qom, the area worst hit by the country's novel coronavirus outbreak, satellite images obtained by CNN reveal.
The country has reported at least 10,075 confirmed coronavirus cases and 429 deaths, the third-highest number of cases after mainland China and Italy.
The satellite images from March 1 and March 8, put out by Maxar Technologies, appear to show an increase in activity inside the Behesht-e Masoumeh cemetery in Qom. The images show what looks like two fresh trenches of graves on March 1, with more excavation after that.
Satellite images from Maxar Technologies show the addition of new burial plots at a cemetery in Qom, Iran, early in March.
Satellite image ？2020 Maxar Technologies
According to Islamic tradition, bodies are supposed to be buried quickly after death. But Behesht-e Masoumeh morgue director Ali Ramezani told Iranian state TV earlier this month that burials were being delayed as testing for the virus takes time. And while corpses are traditionally washed with soap and water before burial in Iran, two medical workers in Qom told CNN that in some cases precautions related to the outbreak are preventing staff from observing traditional Islamic guidelines for burial.
A video from the morgue showed dozens of bodies sheathed in black bags on the floor of an Iranian morgue, while workers in protective suits and masks busily walk among them.
Related stories
Iran was already struggling with one crisis. Now it has the worst coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East Bodies 'pile up' in morgue as Iran feels strain of coronavirus Iran to temporarily free 54,000 prisoners as coronavirus spreads
Read More
The Persian New Year, or Nowruz, falls next Friday, March 20. Many Iranian families visit cemeteries before the end of the Persian year as part of the annual tradition. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called off his annual speech for Nowruz, state news agency IRNA reported Monday. Khamenei will not travel to the city of Mashhad, the site of the Imam Reza shrine, where the speech is usually delivered.
"Due to the spread of coronavirus and strict recommendations given by health officials and specialists to avoid any form of gathering and refrain from traveling and getting out of cities to prevent spread of the disease, the Leader's speech ceremony ... will not be held this year," the statement cited by IRNA said.
Iran to temporarily free 54,000 prisoners as coronavirus spreads
Iran took drastic measures last week to stop the spread of the virus. The government banned Friday prayers in the centers of all provinces across the country. Schools and universities have been shut. Concerts and sports events have been canceled.
All of Iran's 31 provinces have been hit by the virus, with a number of high-profile officials becoming sick.
Iran's former foreign minister and current adviser to Khamenei, Ali Akbar Velayati, tested positive for the virus and was quarantined at his home in Tehran, Iran's semi-official news agency ISNA reported Tuesday.
Another Khamenei adviser, Mohammad Mirmohammadi, 71, died last week, and one of the country's top clerics, Hadi Khosroshahi, succumbed to the sickness last month.
Earlier, Iranian officials confirmed that 23 members of the country's 290-member parliament had tested positive. Two members are known to have died. Several vice presidents, of whom Iran has many, also tested positive.
Briton Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe believes she contracted coronavirus in Iranian prison, her family says
Meanwhile, Iran on Friday rejected an apparent offer from US President Donald Trump to help Iran fight the virus. Trump said: "We have the greatest doctors in the world. We offer Iran assistance."
Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi dismissed the offer as "hypocritical" and "repulsive," and accused the US of "economic and medical terrorism," according to state-run Press TV.
"Instead of hypocritical displays of compassion and repulsive bragging, you should end your economic and medical terrorism so that medicine and medical supplies can reach medical staff and the Iranian people," Mousavi said.
"We do not need American doctors," Mousavi said, adding that Iran has "the best, bravest and most component medical staff in the world."
CNN's Radina Gigova and Sara Mazloumsaki contributed to this article.
Paid Content
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Picks Up $9.5 Million Georgia Farm Mansion Global
Learning a new language this year? – This app gets you speaking in… Babbel.com
Discover the Most Expensive Homes in Los Angeles Mansion Global
New York Real Estate Prices Might Surprise You Real Estate Prices | Sponsored Listings
World Merkel believes 60-70% of Germany's population will be…
Middle East Iran to temporarily free 54,000 prisoners as coronavirus spreads
Politics Donald Trump Jr. just said something unreal about…
World Italian medical chief dies from coronavirus
Middle East UN nuclear watchdog finds Iran has nearly tripled its uranium stockpile
Where Do The Richest Americans Live? Mansion Global
Porsche-Designed Superyacht, Royal Falcon One, Hits the Market Mansion Global
Paid Content
London Real Estate Prices Might Surprise You London Real Estate | Search ads Mansion Global Daily: Celebs in the New York Suburbs, the… Mansion Global Millions Of People Are Using This App To Learn A Language In 2020 Babbel “ExpressVPN十分可靠 - 试用30天“ expressvpn
More from CNN
Unusual tear-drop shaped, half-pulsating star discovered by… Trump makes spurious claims about coronavirus in phone call with… If coronavirus spreads within the US, here's how daily life… Saudi Arabia detains senior members of its royal family
Recommended by