Ministry of Health admits the “fourth wave” is definite in central and western parts of Iran. 14 cities were added to the list of high risk areas for coronavirus, including several province capitals such as Kermanshah, Isfahan and Bandar Abbas. There are 81 “red and orange” counties in the country where travel to and from is forbidden! Before Nowruz holidays, National Task Force announced 40 cities as “high risk” with travel ban. The sudden and gradual addition of new cities trapped travelers because they were not expecting any new list until April 4. Vacationers in the newly announced cities must either leave the city in 72 hours or pay a hefty daily fine!
Kermanshah officials warn residents that any symptom must be considered serious and due to UK variant of coronavirus until proven otherwise. Qazvin reports the uptrend in COVID-19 cases. Mazandaran authorities sound the alarm for continuous increase in infections and spread of UK variant. They confirm 97 cases with the variant have been found in 8 counties of the province. Saveh in Markazi province is on the verge of becoming red, after being upgrading to orange today. Babaei from Alborz Medical University said the current situation is due to the gatherings and shopping sprees of people before Nowruz and not the travelings, “the impacts of travelings will emerge 2 weeks from now,” painting a grim picture for the next few weeks for already broken healthcare system of the Islamic Republic.
Hormozgan Medical University Spokesperson confirmed 4 have died of COVID-19 caused by UK variant coronavirus in the province while total of 498 cases have been validated. Dr. Norouzian said the virus continues to ravage through Bandar Abbas. Advisor to the head of Ahvaz Medical University stated if the gatherings are not controlled, coronavirus will not be curtailed in Khuzestan. Kohgiloyeh county officials in Kohgiloyeh-Boyerahmad warned “catastrophe is on the way,” reporting 17 hospitalizations in the city every day. Governor of the country reiterated the same notion saying the hospital will not be able to handle the amount of patients!
Fars is in the same boat. Shiraz Medical University reported two big hospitals in the city are at full capacity. According to Dr. Lotfi, more than 1,000 cases were identified in the past 24 hours in the province, which is a red alarm for everybody. He warned younger patients are on the rise! Another official predicted “difficult days ahead.” Lorestan recorded increasing number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths. According to the Medical University, the trend has become steeper!
With Ramadan approaching on April 13, religious leaders and mosques are getting ready for their gatherings especially during Qadr nights! Last year, Khamenei ordered the Ministry of Health to allow those crowded gatherings despite all the warnings. Today, Deputy Interior Minister claimed that all protocols must be followed in Ramadan according to the “comprehensive smart plan.”
On a side note, FDA Spokesman’s test results came back positive and Kianush Jahanpur went into quarantine. Advisor to the Health Minister asked people to “pray” for all sick.
Ministry of Health Spokesperson presented her daily manipulated data. Iran Medical Council has already dismissed those numbers, saying the real numbers are at least 3 times higher. Sima Sadat Lari claimed 91 died of COVID-19 in Iran in the past 24 hours while 10,250 tested positive for the novel coronavirus. That is the highest number of daily cases reported since December 10, 2020. Testing goes back to 68,000 per day range, positivity rate rose to 14.97% from 14.42% the day before! Critical and active cases continue to rise as seen on graphs.
R0: 3.77
Total: 1,875,234 (+10,250)
Dead: 62,569 (+91)
Recovered: 1,608,807
Critical: 3,953 (+13)
Admitted: 203,858 (+1,840)
Tests: 12,751,397 (15.3% of the population, assuming each test was performed on 1 person)
Cover: Milad Hamadi
