What Was the Starting Date of the COVID-19 Epidemic in Iran? Rumors against Management of Public Health Emergencies

摘要

Control of infectious disease outbreaks is notpossible without public support and engagement.This support may not be achieved without publictrust in authorities (1).In the case of COVID-19 epidemic in Iran, somerumors claimed that Iran’s Ministry of Healthand Medical Education (MOH) did not disclosethe information about the onset of the epidemicimmediately. These rumors were propagated explosivelyin an organized manner. This propagandacould destroy public trust in the health systemwith resultant loss of public support and engagementin the control of the ongoing epidemicwhich could end in epidemic control failure.