Khorasan Razavi hospitals are on “high alert” and number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are on the rise in the second biggest city in Iran, Mashhad, as Omicron finds its way around the country. Health experts and scientific committee of the National COVID-19 Task Force have demanded the Islamic Republic to close schools, cancel mandated in-person exams and expedite the vaccination process to combat the new variant.
However, Islamic Republic is determined to push forward with its “smart quarantine” plan and “no business will be closed,” no matter how many people are sacrificed in the process. The regime is also defiant on increasing the number of daily tests performed which has been recommended as a remedy to the flawed “coloring” system currently in use. Experts believe the current system lags in detecting the breakouts because it is based on the number of hospitalizations. The theocratic regime continues to hold Friday Prayers and religious gatherings, despite all warnings.
The Islamic Republic is boastfully content with the poor vaccines and low immunization rate in the country. International studies have proven the third dose of Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca are required to neutralize Omicron. In Iran, however, Khamenei banned the reliable mRNA vaccines in January to promote his foundation’s “homegrown” shot. Official data indicate the majority of doses used in Iran are the ineffective Sinopharm and the failed Khamenei’s vaccine, COVIran Barekat, which has not published its data even after months of use on Iranians. According to the Ministry of Health, since February 9, only 4,965,334 (5.91% of population) have received 3 shots while many refuse to show up for their second dose!
The Ministry of Health Spokesperson claimed 51 have died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours and 1,932 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: 6,179,817 (+1,932)
Dead: 131,262 (+51)
Recovered: 6,019,343
Critical: 2,807 (-14)
Active Cases: 29,212 (-1,138)
Total Tests: 41,183,363
Cover: Milad Hamadi
