There is nothing stopping Omicron and soaring number of COVID-19 cases in Iran. Critical cases in Bushehr and other provinces are on the rise. In Mashhad, the second major city in the country, more hospitals are designated to the children with COVID-19, as they are more vulnerable to Omicron. Gilan reported triple infections in 2 weeks. Semnan warns about “explosive increase” in cases and predicts the peak of sixth wave will be reached in 2 weeks. Fars recorded 196 admissions in the past 24 hours.
Secretary of Epidemiology Committee at the National COVID-19 Task Force said the doubling time for Omicron is less than 4 days, which means new cases are quadrupled within a week and 16 times in 2 weeks. Dr. Younesian urged all hospitals to be prepared for the overload of patients in next few weeks, especially in terms of their personnel issues. He expressed his disappointment in the government for not following recommendation of experts to lock down the country for 2 weeks.
Shortage of healthcare staff was mentioned before, when Omicron-infected hospital personnel was reported across Iran. And today, reports indicate more hospital staff are becoming sick with COVID-19. Nurses have also been protesting the regime for their months of overdue wages and benefits since the pandemic began in Iran in February 2020. According to officials at the House of Nurses, more than 2,000 nurses have immigrated from Iran in the past year, mainly due to their financial issues and regime’s empty promises.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic “president” said the “government will not get involved in nonsense” while denying to close down the country and instead “recommended” everybody should follow the protocols! On the other hand, official stats show the “protocols” are not followed and authorities have not been enforcing them properly. Deputy Head of Shahr-e-Kurd Medical University emphasized the “in-person schools are going to hurt us in the sixth wave” and urged the government to close down all grades.
Additionally, the regime is planning to hold its annual “Islamic Revolution parade” across Iran, risking many more infections, hospitalizations and deaths.
According to official definition of “full vaccination” and Ministry of Health data, since February 9, only 19,646,357 (23.38% 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, and promoted it with charade of “administering it” in front of cameras for the 3 doses. The “Supreme Leader’s” decisions have led to a deep mistrust between people and the healthcare system of the regime.
The Ministry of Health Spokesperson claimed 85 have died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours and 35,429 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 319,000 have died of the disease since February 2020. Graphs illustrate the ongoing crisis in Iran and forming of the new wave.
R0: 2.28
Total: 6,579,266 (+35,429)
Dead: 132,830 (+85)
Recovered: 6,152,908
Critical: 2,395 (+113)
Active Cases: 293,528 (+21,128)
Total Tests: 45,399,262
Cover: Fatemeh Rahimavian
