Omicron’s impact has begun to manifest itself only a few days after its first case was confirmed in Iran by the Islamic Republic officials. Mashhad, the second biggest city in the country, reported a new case, making the total number of Omicron-infected COVID-19 patients to 8 in Iran, 3 of them in Tehran. According to the acting head of PR office at the Ministry of Health, 1,800 “suspected cases” have been identified as well! However, the Islamic Republic Ministry of Health has restricted local authorities to share any stats with the public and “all information will be released by the Ministry in Tehran.” The same hiding of the truth and lying to the public process has been followed since the beginning of the pandemic in February 2020.
Even though Dr. Tabarsi had estimated Omicron may take only 17 days to become the dominant variant in Iran, it has already caused the COVID-19 hospitalizations and cases to go up in Fars and Mashhad.
Scientific Committee of the National COVID-19 Task Force issued a statement to the media, warning about the sixth wave of the deadly disease in Iran. The members implicitly admitted the vaccines used in the country are ineffective. They also mentioned the fatal flaw in the “prevention system” which is based on the number of hospitalized instead of known cases, making it harder to detect the wave in time. They estimated that based on this system, the wave would manifest itself in the general stats in the next 2 weeks and 2-3 weeks after that hospitalizations will soar, which could overwhelm the healthcare system.
The Committee also offered some solutions including expedited vaccination, closing schools and universities, restricting some businesses, limiting capacity of transportation system including buses, metros, and airplanes. However, as reported yesterday, the Islamic Republic is insistent on holding concerts, schools activities and mandatory in-person exams! Deputy Health Minister admitted schools are not following the protocols, “but the National COVID-19 Task Force must make the decision which will be discussed by Saturday” as if the matter is not urgent enough.
The slow vaccination with ineffective Sinopharm and failed COVIran Barekat continues as the more reliable mRNA vaccines are banned in Iran by the order of Islamic Republic “Supreme Leader”, Ali Khamenei. According to official data, since February 9, only 4,593,787 (5.46% of Iran population) have received 3 doses. In Khuzestan alone, more than 400,000 residents have not make it to their 2nd dose. People do not trust the regime even in the matter of life and death, knowing the theocratic regime only cares about its own survival and wealth.
The Ministry of Health Spokesperson claimed 44 have died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours and 2,103 tested positive for the novel coronavirus, no sequencing details were shared with the public. Professor of Epidemiology at Tehran University believes these numbers must be multiplied by 7 and Civil Registration Organization data show more than 314,000 have died of the disease since February 2020. Graphs illustrate the ongoing crisis in Iran and forming of the new wave.
R0: 1.69
Total: 6,177,885 (+2,103)
Dead: 131,211 (+44)
Recovered: 6,016,324
Critical: 2,821 (-14)
Active Cases: 30,350 (-1,570)
Total Tests: 41,082,066
Cover: Mina Noei
