Iran’s government said Monday that 12 people have died nationwide from the new coronavirus, rejecting claims of a much higher death toll by a lawmaker from the city of Qom that has been at the epicenter of the virus in the country.

The conflicting reports raised questions about the Iranian government’s transparency concerning the scale of the outbreak. Iran’s Health Ministry said the total number of infections have risen to 61 while deaths stood at 12.

But a lawmaker from Qom, Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani, was quoted by the semi-official ILNA news agency as saying that the death toll was 50.

The World Health Organization said last week that in 2% of infected cases, the virus has been fatal. In Iran, according to the Health Ministry’s figures, the death toll represents nearly 20% of total infections.

President Donald Trump basked in India’s welcoming embrace on a day that featured a mega-rally with cheering crowds, a mutual admiration show with his counterpart and a sunset tour of the famed Taj Mahal.

Trump opened his rally speech in Ahmedabad on Monday by declaring that he had traveled 8,000 miles to deliver the message that “America loves India, America respects India and America will always be faithful and loyal friends to the Indian people.”

Local artist Alyssa Baguss covered the back wall of the Hearth Room in the Anderson Student Center this January with a 29 feet wide and 10 feet long forest landscape, cut out to mirror the windows on the side of the room.

The cutouts depict an abstract, topographical view of the Mississippi River that runs just outside of St. Thomas’s St. Paul campus. “Forest fog” is meant to reflect the nature around the campus in a way that engages the audience with the landscape from inside the Hearth Room.

Leila Weah can be reached at weah7721@stthomas.edu.