Today was the “next Saturday” that National Task Force announced the “new restrictions” will be implemented across the red and orange cities, which includes all 31 province capitals and total of 386 counties in Iran. Dr. Raisi, Spokesman for the Task Force, admitted the steep curve of coronavirus is observed in 23 provinces, while 4 are entering their fourth coronavirus wave. He also said the future is bleak! However, even officials admit this is not enough and even the bare minimum restrictions are not enforced properly. Tehran Deputy Governor popped into several government buildings where none of the protocols were taken seriously.
Head of Tehran Corona Combating Committee said “this is not lockdown, we’re playing with words.” Dr. Zali criticized the current level of restrictions, saying today, more than 800,000 people used Metro in Tehran, buses were busy and nothing has changed from days before. He emphasized there is no other way but to shut down Tehran completely. Zali described the COVID-19 situation in the capital as dreadful, reporting one dead every 16 minutes. Dr. Salmanzadeh, head of Abadan Medical College reiterated the same point, saying coronavirus cannot be controlled until they prioritize economy over health. He emphasized there is no hope in these restrictions since there is nothing new about them, and they are not even enforced. According to Film Producers Association, even filming of projects has not been cancelled during the current tsunami.
For instance, yesterday, a video circulated on social media, showing a full plane with about 40 extra passengers standing in the corridor, flew from Abdan to Mashhad, a 2-hour flight. In response, Qeshm Air CEO threatened to sue the person who recorded the video. According to National Task Force rules, planes are allowed to operate with 60% capacity!
While provinces keep reporting bleak circumstances in their hospitals, some cities described their situation as “black,” President of Islamic Republic continue to blame people for their reckless behaviors and traveling and of course, US sanctions for vaccination delays! Hassan Rouhani, however, did not mention the National Task Force he rules and Khamenei, have been at the center of every decision coronavirus related since the epidemic began 14 months ago. From holding crowded Ramadan and other religious gatherings to banning US and UK made vaccines. Meanwhile, Dr. Shahriari, head of Health Commission at Islamic Consultative Assembly, wrote a letter to Ebrahim Raisi, Chief of Judiciary, to investigate and punish Rouhani for his mismanagement of the crisis.
Ministry of Health Spokesperson presented her daily manipulated data. Since day 1, the daily figures reported have been criticized as undercounted, even Iran Medical Board officials believe the real numbers are at least 3 times more. Sima Sadat Lari claimed 193 died of COVID-19 in Iran in the past 24 hours while 19,666 tested positive for the novel coronavirus. According to her, daily PCR tests remains in the same 81,000 range while critical cases continue to rise. Active cases reached a new high, as seen on the graphs.
R0: 3.80
Total: 2,049,078 (+19,666)
Dead: 64,232 (+193)
Recovered: 1,702,062
Critical: 4,329 (+51)
Active Cases: 282,784 (+10,416)
Tests: 13,577,057(16.3% of the population, assuming each test was performed on 1 person)
Cover: Mina Noei
