COVID-19 cases continue to rise across Iran, Omicron has spread throughout the country and Islamic Republic Ministry of Health admits the sixth wave has begun but “is incapable of knowing the scope of the Omicron spread!” The flawed “coloring” system of the regime shows 32 counties have been upgraded to “yellow” from “blue” and 1 county in Yazd province has reached “orange” level, indicating an increase in hospitalizations.
Islamic Republic Health Minister admitted not many are interested to receive the 3rd dose of vaccines used in Iran. Eynollahi claimed 21-22% of people have been administered 3 doses. However, according to official definition of “full vaccination” and Ministry of Health data, since February 9, only 14,563,440 (17.33% of Iran population) are vaccinated against COVID-19 with these vaccines. 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.
Khuzestan officials reported 1/3 of COVID-19 cases in the province are admitted in ICU! Head of Ahvaz Medical University urged everybody not to wait for the “coloring system.” Dr. Sarmast made it clear that the system is flawed and everybody should assume all cities are in “yellow” status and all restrictions must be enforced. Ardabil Governor sounded the alarm about “fragile” COVID-19 situation and widespread Omicron infections. Fars announced increasing number of hospitalizations.
However, all of the warnings and red alarms seems to fall on deaf ears of the Islamic Republic officials. Deputy Health Minister in Education sent a directive to all medical schools across Iran that all classes in new semester must be held in person! Schools are to resume their normal activities as well, despite low compliance with the protocols. Additionally, air pollution in Tehran increases the COVID-19 risks and exacerbates respiratory issues. Today, air quality was “dangerous for all age groups.”
The Ministry of Health Spokesperson claimed 28 have died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours and 5,144 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 317,000 have died of the disease since February 2020. Graphs illustrate the ongoing crisis in Iran and forming of the new wave.
R0: 1.48
Total: 6,250,490 (+5,144)
Dead: 132,230 (+28)
Recovered: 6,080,343
Critical: 1,208 (-8)
Active Cases: 37,917 (+2,797)
Total Tests: 44,046,094
Cover: Mina Noei
