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The Covid-19 pandemic has infected over 218,000 people globally and has not discriminated on the basis of political class or ranking.

Elected officials, cabinet members, clerics and vice presidents from Australia to Iran to the United States have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Here is a rundown of confirmed Covid-19 cases of policymakers and public officials across the globe.

Iran

The country has highest number of cases after China and Italy (+17,000), and is seeing a number of clerics and officials test positive. Some have died, while others are still hospitalised or in quarantine.

1- Ayatollah Hashem Bathayi Golpayegani, member of the Assembly of Experts, died this month

2- Hossein Sheikholeslam, advisor to Irans foreign minister, died this month

3- Hadi Khosroshahi, a prominent cleric and former ambassador to the Vatican, died this month

4- Seyyed Mohammad Mir Mohammadi, member of the Expediency Council, died this month

5- Mohammad Ali Ramezani, member of Parliament, died this month

6- Mojtaba Pourkhanali, an agriculture ministry official, died this month

7- Mojtaba Fazeli, an adviser to a senior cleric, died this month

8- Ali Akbar Velayati, top adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, tested positive

9- Eshaq Jahangiri, Vice President, tested positive

10- Ali Asghar Mounesan, minister of cultural heritage, tested positive

11- Reza Rahmani, minister of industry, tested positive

12- Massoumeh Ebtekar, Vice President, tested positive

13- Mojtaba Zolnour, member of Parliament, tested positive

14- Mahmoud Sadeghi, member of Parliament, tested positive

15- Iraj Harirchi, deputy health minister, tested positive

16- Morteza Rahmanzadeh, mayor of a Tehran district, tested positive

17- Mohamad Reza Ghadir, head of Covid-19 management in Qom, tested positive

18- Mahmoud Sadeghi, member of the parliament, tested positive

19- Mojtaba Zonnour, head of Iran's parliamentary security and foreign relations commission, tested positive

20- Grand ayatollah Musa Shobairi Zanjani, tested positive

Medical staff push a patient on a gurney to a waiting medical helicopter at the Emile Muller hospital in Mulhouse, eastern France. AFP

An Indian man shows his stamped hand, indicating that the person is under 'home quarantine', in Mumbai, India. EPA

Judie Shape, centre, who has tested positive for the coronavirus, but isn't showing symptoms, presses her hand against her window after a visit through the window and on the phone with her daughter Lori Spencer, left, and her son-in-law Michael Spencer, at the Life Care Center in Kirkland. AP Photo

A single worshipper wearing a surgical mask sits on a pew in Westminster Cathedral in central London. AFP

People confined at their homes sing and dance from their windows to bolster themselves up during a lockdown in Madrid. AFP

A person walks on the deserted Passerelle du Palais de Justice in Lyon, central eastern France as a strict lockdown comes into in effect. AFP

Soldiers stand guard on road leading to a quarantine faciltity for people returning from Iran via the Pakistan-Iran border town of Taftan, in Sukkur in southern Sindh province. AFP

A passenger wearing protective clothing uses a self check-in machine at Incheon international airport, west of Seoul. AFP

Workers cheer themselves after loading travellers onto buses outside the New China International Exhibition Centre, near Beijing Capital Airport in Beijing. AFP

A nurse wearing a facemask walks outside the entrance of Sri Lanka's Infectious Diseases Hospital near Colombo. AFP

People queue for groceries at a supermarket in Singapore. AFP

A medical worker tests a person for the coronavirus at a drive-through facility primarily for first responders and medical personnel in San Antonio. AP Photo

A robot, developed by a start-up firm Asimov Robotics, holds a tray with face masks and sanitiser after the two robots were launched to spread awareness about the coronavirus, in Kochi, India, March 17, 2020. Reuters

Brazil

In South America, Brazil has currently the highest number of cases (509). Following a trip to the United States and a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Florida, at his Mar-a-Lago resort, 16 members of the Brazilian delegation have tested positive, according to Bloomberg. The countrys President Jair Bolsonaro said he had tested negative, despite initial reports saying he had the virus. These names have tested positive:

1- David Alcolumbre, Head of Brazil Senate, tested positive

2- Nestor Forster, Brazils top US diplomat, tested positive

3- Augusto Heleno, National Security Minister, tested positive

4- Fabio Wajngarten, press secretary for the President, tested positive

5- Bento Albuquerque , Minister of Mines and Energy, tested positive

Argentina's Ambassador to Venezuela Eduardo Porreti tested positive for coronavirus.

In the United States, Florida has seen most cases of public officials infected with the virus. The positive cases of lawmakers are:

1- Miami mayor Francis Suarez, tested positive

2- Diaz Balart, Congressman, tested positive

3- Ben McAdams, Congressman from Utah, tested positive

In Canada, the spouse of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's wife, Sophie Grgoire Trudeau, has tested positive.

In Europe, the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez tested positive for the coronavirus as the country went into lockdown. The countrys Minister of Equality and the Minister of Regional Affairs also tested positive. Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias stirred controversy on Saturday when he attended a Cabinet meeting, despite his partner being infected with the virus.

The first public figure in Ukraine to test positive was member of parliament Serhiy Shakhov. On Wednesday, he initially denied that he tested positive, but hours later admitted he had the disease.

British Junior Health Minister Nadine Dorres tested positive, as well as French Culture Minister Franck Riester.

Friedrich Merz, a candidate for chairman of Angela Merkel's conservative party CDU, is infected by the virus.

Out of every European country, Italy has been worst impacted by the outbreak, where it has killed nearly 2,978 people - nearly as much as in China. Italian MP Claudio Pedrazzini was the country's first parliamentarian to be diagnosed. Nicola Zingaretti, the leader of Italian governing coalitions Democratic Party also tested positive.

In Asia, Philippines senator Juan Miguel "Migz" Fernndez Zubiri, tested positive for the disease, local media reported.

Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton also tested positive.

Updated: March 19, 2020 12:07 PM

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Coronavirus: from Iran to Brazil, a growing list of politicians test positive - The National