Islamic Republic broke another COVID-19 death record. Based on widely suspicious and engineered numbers provided by Ministry of Health Spokesperson, Sima Sadat Lari, highest daily death toll of 235 was achieved in the past 24 hours. Previously, July 21 held that record with 229 deaths! That’s all Khamenei and his regime have been doing since the beginning of the outbreak in Iran, breaking records in death and infections! No plans whatsoever to contain the accelerated virus but plenty plans to kill more people, either by allowing “Moharram mourning ceremonies” or “national exams” across the country, even in “red” regions.
National Task Force issued a statement declaring the conditions for places which can hold the “mourning ceremonies.” Having proper ventilation, reduced time, 1.5m distance between mourners, continuous disinfection, and using masks at all times are part of those conditions. But checking a single video from these ceremonies would reveal that none of these is practical. Health officials know it too, Deputy Health Minister in Health Affairs, Raisi, said the Ministry is categorically against any indoor gatherings. He knows the healthcare system cannot afford to maintain another surge! But Judiciary Spokesman, Grand Ayatollahs, even Rouhani himself (a mullah), say the “mourning for Imam Hossein” is in our blood and culture and must go on as big as every other year!
Many experts warn this would cause even worse situations in the days to come but “religious leaders” say “it’s not possible to close mourning ceremonies.” Grand Ayatollah, Makarem-Shirazi said, “Moharram is a principle we must respect.” One of the reasons is, Moharram is the month for mullahs to earn their livings for the rest of the year by going from one gathering to the next, repeating the same rhetoric from 1400 years ago and get paid! Another reason is, Islamic Republic has used these gatherings to spread its propaganda and ideology for decades, and shutting it down would mean a huge loss of opportunity, especially during this critical time with heightened tensions between US, the “Great Satan” and the regime!
According to Sadat Lari, 26 of 31 provinces are in red (15) or alarming (11) status. Tehran and Alborz are finally upgraded to red after days of delay and controversies among Ministry officials. Ardebil, Isfahan, Semnan and North Khorasan jumped to “red” while West Azerbaijan, Khuzestan and Bushehr are mentioned in “alarming” category. Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari is the new addition to the lot. That’s 92% of total Iran’s population! With Tehran officially in red status, a representative asked officials to close down the capital and its government centers for 1-2 weeks. 70% of government employees have to attend work in person, at the moment.
The Basic Reproduction Rate (R0) increased another point and graphs indicate increasing number of critical cases, declining number of recoveries, increasing number of infections and therefore, increasing number of active cases in hospitals. All based on Ministry data which are hugely undercounted!
R0: 1.37
Total: 296,273 (+2,667)
Dead: 16,147 (+235)
Healed: 257,019
Critical: 3,902 (+83)
Admitted: 23,107 (+557)
Tests: 2,380,122
