Delta variant is spreading faster than imagined and Islamic Republic, as usual, is making the situation worse. Widespread blackouts have caused deaths and extraordinary difficulties for healthcare staff. According to the President of the National Union of Medical and Industrial Gases, long blackouts of more than 6hours across the country have caused oxygen production to be delayed by 10 hours, when in summer months, there is usually 15% decrease in the production as well, leading to oxygen shortage and possible need to import oxygen!
Grim reports continue to come out of Sistan-Baluchestan. Chabahar Rep in Islamic Consultative Assembly said whatever you hear about the critical situation in the province, it is much worse! Saeedi rebuked the government for mismanagement of the crisis saying it has gone “out of control.” He added, COVID-19 test kits are scarce, hospitals are filled with COVID-19 patients, even CCU wards are designated to COVID-19. The Rep revealed the death toll is beyond imagination, because on top of shortage of test kits, many don’t have IDs and many die at home. Saeedi mentioned shortage of clean water and widespread blackouts in 110F summer heat as additional causes for the ongoing crisis in Sistan-Baluchestan.
Meanwhile, Delta (Indian) variant advances to other provinces, including Tehran. Dr. Tavakoli from Tehran Corona Combating Committee confirmed cases of the strain in the capital. He said “there is no way to determine if they have Delta” but the pattern shows this is the case. He claimed PCR test is not “accurate” enough for the variant. However, other countries use sequencing techniques to confirm the specimens on a daily basis. Tehran Governor, at the same time as protests are forming against widespread blackouts, has suddenly banned gatherings of more than 15 people across Tehran. It is notable, Tehran has been in “red” status for a week!
Ministry of Health released the list of “high risk” areas in the country for this week. It comprises of 120 “red” cities, up from 92, covering more provinces, including capitals of Isfahan, Kohgiloye-Boyerahmad, Gilan, Ilam and Fars. 182 remain “orange” while 146 are “yellow” and 0 as “blue!”
Gilan, Zanjan, Kohgiloyeh-Boyerahmad, Kerman, Bushehr, Hormozgan, Mazandaran, Hamedan, Isfahan, Khorasan Razavi, South Khorasan, Yazd and Khuzestan report increasing number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Ahvaz Rep in Islamic Consultative Assembly criticized the National Task Force in managing the coronavirus pandemic from the beginning, saying they have always lacked consistency in their actions! Yousefi also revealed the propaganda of the regime, saying, “with cameras they show 2 vaccination centers and claim everything is fine. It is not.” He pointed out the long lines of elders waiting for their shot.
Vaccination remains too slow to have any impact in stopping the wild coronavirus and everybody has started to note all empty promises and lies of the Islamic Republic officials about purchasing foreign or manufacturing domestic vaccines. Some officials have taken notice of Iranians going to Armenia for vaccination and use it for their political gains, instead of taking actions. ISNA, a state-media, published a long list of promises by the President, National Task Force and Health Minister which none of them has been delivered.
Meanwhile, the widespread blackouts have caused problems for vaccination centers too. Zanjan officials warn about the impact and demand the centers must be equipped with backup generators, a crucial requirement for safety of the vaccines. Other centers lack generators too.
According to official data, since February 9, total of 6,515,385 shots have been administered and only 2,017,809 (2.40% of Iran population) have received both doses to be considered fully administered.
Ministry of Health Spokesperson announced her daily report even though the numbers are highly undercounted and Iran Medical Board estimated the real numbers are at least 3 times higher. Sima Sadat Lari claimed 16,080 tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 146 died of COVID-19. She did not mention specific variant information. Daily PCR testing remains low while active and critical cases are on the rise, as seen on the graphs.
R0: 2.82
Total: 3,286,923 (+16,080)
Dead: 85,095 (+146)
Recovered: 2,953,586
Critical: 3,296 (+41)
Active Cases: 248,242 (+3,222)
Tests: 23,119,858 (28.6% of the population, assuming each test was performed on 1 person)
Cover: Koosha Mahshid Falahi
