Iran is ravaged by its sixth wave of COVID-19 and despite what the Islamic Republic Health Minister claims, hospitals are overwhelmed! Khuzestan officials announced Abouzar hospital is full with COVID-19 patients and 80% of Razi hospital’s capacity is filled up. Ahvaz Medical University reported 500% increase in cases from last week, warning the healthcare system will be overloaded and overworked!
East Azerbaijan reported there is no “blue” city in the province as hospitalizations soar. Kermanshah medical professionals urge the governor to shut down in-person classes as soon as possible. Tehran has had more than 15,000 outpatients in the capital’s hospitals in 24hours. Dr. Zali of Tehran Corona Combating Committee reported 48% positivity rate during the past week while the week before it was around 10-15%! He called on people to refrain from any gathering and receive their 3rd dose of vaccination as soon as possible. Mashhad, the second major city in the country, reiterated 100% increase in cases from last week.
Despite all the grim numbers and warnings from the health experts, Islamic Republic insists on the in-person classes, delays lockdown decisions and holds its anniversary celebrations including crowded concerts and Fajr Film Festival, without following any COVID-19 restriction.
According to official definition of “full vaccination” and Ministry of Health data, since February 9, only 18,774,788 (22.35% of Iran population) are vaccinated against COVID-19 with these vaccines. It is estimated that more than 53 million Iranians are at risk of contracting Omicron. The majority of shots used in Iran are the ineffective Sinopharm and failed COVIran Barekat. WHO recommends 3 doses of Sinopharm to be effective against Delta but studies have found the vaccine ineffective against Omicron. It is worth mentioning, Khamenei banned US and UK made vaccines in January to promote his own foundation’s COVIran Barekat, which led to a deep mistrust between people and the healthcare system of the regime.
The Ministry of Health Spokesperson claimed 61 have died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours and 37,395 tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Number of daily tests performed in the country continue to decline despite experts advice to have a more active case finding. Active cases begin to rise too. Professor of Epidemiology at Tehran University believes these numbers must be multiplied by 7 and Civil Registration Organization data show more than 318,000 have died of the disease since February 2020. Graphs illustrate the ongoing crisis in Iran and forming of the new wave.
R0: 2.19
Total: 6,483,799 (+37,395)
Dead: 132,624 (+61)
Recovered: 6,121,353
Critical: 1,945 (+126)
Active Cases: 229,822 (+31,115)
Total Tests: 45,095,250
Cover: Mina Noei
