Islamic Republic officials had made some bold claims and promises, and as the time to deliver those promises approaches, the regime is suffocating the reports and reporters. According to a directive by the Chairman of Communications Subcommittee at National Task Force, all vaccination news, including imported number of doses, their origin, administered doses, distribution timeline and process, domestic manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines, etc. must be approved by the Ministry of Health first before release! This happens after Customs officials revealed importation of a 50-ton shipment from China which could be used for rebranding of Chinese vaccines, and also 1,000,000 doses from an unknown origin a few days ago.
On the other hand, Chairman of Tehran Corona Combating Committee stated Indian and South African variants of coronavirus have reached the capital. Dr. Zali said since many cases have been confirmed in other provinces, they definitely are in Tehran too. Ministry of Health refuses to announce specific variant cases in its daily manipulated reports. According to the latest statement by National Task Force, 60 have been confirmed in different provinces across Iran. Dr. Zali also warned that any gatherings is dangerous and must be prohibited, especially during “elections season.”
Dr. Tabarsi from Masih Daneshvari hospital in Tehran reiterated that any gathering will lead to another outbreak. He admitted the vaccination process is slow and not at a sufficient level, therefore, if compliance with protocols is not improved, the fifth wave will be inevitable. In the meantime, Khuzestan officials are worried COVID-19 hospitalizations may have a sudden spike in the next 2-3 days after Eid Fitr gatherings. An official at Dezful Medical College reported 95% of ICU and 90% of designated beds to COVID-19 patients are full. Dr. Firouzzadeh said the healthcare system continues to be overloaded.
As Islamic Republic sham “elections” approaches, coronavirus epidemic has become a major concern for health experts. However, regime officials see it as an opportunity to increase their broken legitimacy. Head of Health Commission at “Elections Committee” of Tehran said people attending the polls may be vaccinated! There have been rumors that the regime may use this tactic to increase participation since this “election” is expected to be held with least participation in history of the theocratic regime. Deputy Health Minister Harirchi said the decisions regarding the “elections” will be announced by Saturday, and everything will be done to increase participation. Islamic Republic President also declared people participation as the most important aspect for the regime!
Meanwhile, Ministry of Health Spokesperson claimed 233 died of COVID-19 in Iran in the past 24 hours and 12,789 tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Sima Sadat Lari did not provide any sequencing information. Iran Medical Board officials estimate the real numbers are at least 3 times higher than the daily reports! According to her, 2,721,512 shots have been administered since February 9 across the country while only 425,212 (0.5% of population) are fully vaccinated. The graphs show the fourth wave is not over yet, officials warn of the fifth one.
R0: 3.55
Total: 2,792,204 (+12,789)
Dead: 77,765 (+233)
Recovered: 2,272,719
Critical: 5,158 (-15)
Active Cases: 441,720 (-2,117)
Tests: 18,418,983 (21.9% of the population, assuming each test was performed on 1 person)
Cover: Ahmad Amirahmadi
