Delta variant is crushing the healthcare system in Iran while the officials of Islamic Republic contradict and blame each other for all the problems. Deputy Health Minister Harirchi called the 6-day lockdown of Tehran and Alborz provinces futile because nobody followed the protocols and COVID-19 restrictions, especially the travel ban, were not implemented. He added, every 6 minutes, an Iranian dies of COVID, which considering the Ministry’s data are at least 1/3 of real numbers, that means 3 deaths every 6 minutes or 1 every 2 minutes! Harirchi blamed the skyrocketing numbers on the religious gatherings and asked the “people who insist on these gatherings to apologize to people.” Recently, Islamic Propaganda Organization announced no Muharram gathering will be closed due to coronavirus pandemic!
According to provincial officials in the northern belt, the holidays actually worsened the situation in their hospitals. Golestan reports record breaking 2,000 hospitalized patients, even more than the first wave in February 2020, and hospitals at full capacity. Mazandaran says the hospitals are filled with patients. Gilan is on the same boat. Traveling was not only a problem for those provinces, but also Khorasan Razavi. The Traffic Police announced 21% increase in July travels to Mashhad compared to the year before.
Chairman of Tehran Corona Combating Committee reiterated Harirchi’s point but said supporting businesses and families in need in addition to 10-14 days lockdown may help the devastating situation in capital’s hospitals. Dr. Zali said hospitalizations are accelerating and 9,000 COVID-19 patients are expected in Tehran hospitals soon. Markazi authorities warn about increasing number of children being admitted and predict spike in death toll. Shiraz Medical University reports about 400 admissions a day in Fars. Dr. Hemmati expressed his concern about deteriorating situation in the province.
Health experts and medical professionals warn that people are dying while waiting for a bed, a medicine, or even for a test! Some have to wait for 3 days and go through hoops and connections to find a hospital bed.
On the other hand, slow and chaotic vaccination with ineffective vaccines continues in Iran. While Mr. Health Minister spouts off about his role in “importing vaccines” even though it was not his job, Red Crescent Society claims more than 70% of imported vaccines are by their efforts and not the Ministry!
Ministry of Health announced total of 10,265,811 shots have been administered in Iran since February 9 and only 2,394,707 (2.85% of population) are fully vaccinated.
Despite the daily report of Ministry of Health have been dismissed since day one of the epidemic in Iran 17 months ago, the Spokesperson continues presenting her numbers! Sima Sadat Lari claimed 268 died of COVID-19 in Iran in the past 24 hours and 27,146 tested positive for the novel coronavirus. As seen on the graphs, daily PCR tests decline, positivity rate increases while active and critical cases soar every day.
R0: 2.92
Total: 3,691,432 (+27,146)
Dead: 88,800 (+268)
Recovered: 3,256,856
Critical: 4,863 (+79)
Active Cases: 345,776 (+9,194)
Tests: 25,537,513 (30.2% of the population, assuming each test was performed on 1 person)
