Head of Ahvaz Medical University reiterated his previous statements about the severity of coronavirus situation in Khuzestan. Abolnejadian said 56% of all specimens taken in the province are the new UK variant, and if this happens in a few other provinces, Ministry of Health won’t be able to manage it. He said shortage of bed has been managed for the time being, but the overwhelming flood of COVID-19 patients to hospitals continue. Dr. Abolnejadian warned that National Task Force must make a better decision for Khuzestan tomorrow, in their weekly meeting. He added shortage of staff and nurses has been devastating, forcing officials to cancel all leaves! Dr. Mardani of Ahvaz Medical University showcased a 3-year-old’s lung x-ray who died of COVID-19 merely 3 hours after reaching hospital.
Head of Abadan Medical College in SW of Khuzestan was more critical of officials in Tehran! He said, “I don’t know what could possibly happen in Khuzestan if it goes in lockdown for 2 weeks. We would save people’s lives.” Salmanzadeh said the response is not proportionate for the severity of situation and if nothing changes fast, a human catastrophe would happen in Khuzestan. He criticized officials saying changing “color” to “red” is not just playing with words, but it constitutes some actions that must be taken, but nothing has been done, other than closing roads for non-resident private cars. Salmanzadeh rebuked the loose use of “by following health protocols” by officials, saying it’s just a slogan! Islamic Republic officials, especially Rouhani and Namaki have used this phrase for all premature reopenings since the epidemic began in Iran, 13 months ago!
The new confirmed cases of UK variant coronavirus is on the rise! Markazi officials reported 45 cases in almost all counties of the province. Dr. Alimohammadi said the real number is much higher, these are from random tests. Dr. Norouzian from Bandar Abbas Medical University confirmed 18 total cases of the British version, saying it has spread from the western provinces to the center and south of Iran. Regime authorities continue to refuse quarantining Khuzestan, just like last year when they didn’t lock down Qom and Gilan. In the meantime, Saeed Namaki continues to express his “worry” about the UK variant wave and Persian New Year Holidays!
Ministry of Health Spokesperson presented her daily undercounted data, while even officials admitted the real numbers are at least 3-4 times higher. Sima Sadat Lari announced 81 COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours in Iran while 8,367 tested positive for coronavirus. Testing remains in the same 60,000 range while critical cases increased. As seen on the graphs, active cases keep growing, shaping up the next peak.
R0: 4.05
Total: 1,673,470 (+8,367)
Dead: 60,512 (+81)
Recovered: 1,428,008
Critical: 3,767 (+7)
Admitted: 184,950 (+1,236)
Tests: 11,151,509 (13.4% of the population, assuming each test was performed on 1 person)
