Ministry of Health Spokesperson, Sima Sadat Lari, announced 200 deaths and 2,637 new cases in the past 24 hours. That’s the highest number of daily death toll, based on the fake and manipulated data by the regime, since the “official” onset of the epidemic in Iran, on Feb 19. That means 140 days have passed, and not only the virus hasn’t been “contained” as Namaki and Rouhani had claimed many times in the past, but it has gotten wilder, spreading faster and killing more Iranians. Sadat Lari also announced Khuzestan, Hormozgan, Bushehr, Kermanshah, Kurdistan, Ilam, East & West Azerbaijan and Khorasan Razavi in red status while Tehran, Isfahan, Mazandaran, Golestan, Alborz, Kerman, Yazd, Sistan-Baluchestan, Hamedan, Zanjan and Ardebil are “alarming”. That’s 20 out of 31 provinces in critical situation. An arbitrary number cannot distinguish between “alarming” and “red” conditions. If it’s on the list, means it’s critical. Let’s not forget South Khorasan, Kohgiloyeh-Boyerahmad and Markazi officials have also announced “alarming” surge in their cases.
While Islamic Republic officials were gloating about being ahead of US and EU in the “Corona Match“, 5-1, the virus was still spreading but were covered up as usual! While Rouhani and his administration were bragging about “exporting” masks and other medical supplies to “other countries”, they should have thought of a day would come that Namaki would stand in front of cameras saying, “We know it’s difficult for poor families to afford masks, but use anything they can to cover their nose and mouth.”
Once more, on that same “press release”, Namaki blamed the current predicament on people for not following the rules, and holding gatherings such as weddings, funerals,… He said, “I begged people to take this seriously, but nobody listened. I told everybody including those who were pressuring us for reopenings that we’re wrestling with a dangerous virus and might concede a goal at the last minute from the corner of the field, I told everybody that we’re playing chess with an unknown virus. I said it several times that normalization and being naive that this was over, was the most dangerous of thoughts.”
Two Sides of Weddings
In a report from Golestan, officials say 200 people were infected in a wedding ceremony, while 5 of them have passed away. On the other hand, brother of a groom from a wedding more than a month ago released a video saying: “My brother’s wedding was on May 25. June 8, he’s admitted as a “suspected” case of COVID-19, but 5 of his tests come back negative. Until the 6th one on Jun 19 which comes back positive. However, he had gone to the doctor even before June 8 with Vasculitis symptoms but went undiagnosed until his lungs were involved on that day. When my brother was “suspected” of COVID-19, Deputy Health Minister and his doctor came to his side with TV cameras, showed his face and told a story to make people see what may happen if they don’t follow the health instructions. Considering the incubation period of coronavirus, and the fact that the bride and nobody else got sick, my brother didn’t get sick in the wedding.”
But they told the story the way they wanted, to have a scapegoat and blame everything on people. When in fact officials, including this doctor who was on TV cameras, were the ones telling people “not to wear a mask, we all have to get it to get rid of it.” Or Khamenei and Rouhani who said this is nothing and everything would be back to normal “next Saturday”. They’re the ones who normalized the death by providing undercounted fake data. They’re the ones who under Khamenei’s pressure, opened mosques, allowed “Laylatul-Qadr” and held “Eid Fitr Prayers.” They’re the ones who opened the outside yards of the “holy shrines” for backward minded people who defy science to go and “pray” for their “ill” to be healed! They’re the ones who colored the map of Iran with arbitrary numbers and no travel restrictions between different zones! They’re the same people who have raised children who are afraid to be happy in public in case opposite sex is aroused! Namaki and other Islamic Republic officials are the ones responsible for this misery, aside from all other sufferings they have brought on Iranians.
Unimaginable Magnitude
The crisis is much bigger than could be imagined. Masih Daneshvari hospital, one of the most advanced hospitals in the country and specialized to treat COVID-19 patients in Tehran, has no more bed. Patients sit in parking garage, hallways, outside, in their cars, anywhere possible, to receive oxygen, and nothing else. There are not enough nurses and healthcare staff to take care of the flood of patients. Head of “Behesht-e-Zahra” cemetery in Tehran said, “we had to bury 70 COVID-19 victims in the past 24 hours while we had reached to 19 a day a week ago.” The same is being reported from all corners of the country. Miandoab officials in West Azerbaijan province say they’re out of bed and can’t admit anybody else. Head of Ilam’s Medical University says, “We are in a dire situation, if this continues into fall, the overlap with flu is dreadful and unimaginable.”
Once more, another lie of Islamic Republic officials is revealed! Head of Health Network in Miandoab announced creating “Corona Police” in this county to control and surveil corona patients who don’t follow self-quarantine rules and to report any kind of gatherings to proper Judicial authorities to act and charge whom don’t follow the health instructions. When we reported about “Health Police” in June, the next day, NAJA, Islamic Republic’s Police, denied the news immediately!
All media in Iran are, on one hand, busy blaming poor people who cannot afford to stay home, and on the other hand publishing “good” news and government’s “achievements” on their main pages! As always, in Islamic Republic era the cheapest commodity is human life! It looks like to the media outside Iran too, including Persian language ones, speculating about what happened in Natanz, Khojir,… is more important than 200 innocent lives, estimated to be much higher, taken away by Islamic Republic incompetency, corruption and terrorism.
Basic Production Rate (R0) and other graphs all point toward 140 days of crisis! Interestingly, cases, and critical ones specifically are on the rise, at the same time, more people are recovering but the hospitals don’t have enough room to admit any more patients!
R0: 1.28
Total: 245,688 (+2,637)
Dead: 11,931 (+200)
Healed: 207,000
Critical: 3,270 (+69)
Admitted: 26,757 (-480)
Tests: 1,846,793 (Number of labs wasn’t mentioned in today’s news. Officials may have finally figured out there are discrepancies when they lie.)
Photo: Majid Khahi, ISNA
