On the one hand, the Islamic Republic President says “reopenings must be planned and not premature,” on the other, private banks employees are forced to end their remote working go back to the office. On the one hand, a study in Iran finds out the Chinese Sinopharm is only 5% effective in preventing infection with Delta variant, on the other, Islamic Republic keeps importing the ineffective vaccine and the Health Minister brags about “breaking records in vaccination!” On the one hand, local officials warn about increasing number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, on the other, Ebrahim Raisi claims the “virus is controlled!” Chaos, lies and propaganda have been the management style of the theocratic regime to curb the deadly coronavirus in Iran in the past 20 months.
Khorasan Razavi Governor orders local officials to be prepared for the sixth wave. Kermanshah reports COVID-19 hospitalizations surpassing the recoveries in the province. Ahvaz Medical University announced rising cases in 3 counties in Khuzestan province and warned some schools are opposing vaccination of students! Fars officials admit coronavirus is slowly getting momentum again. Kohgiloyeh-Boyerahmad awaits the sixth wave in early November. Mazandaran records higher infections every day. West Azerbaijan has more than 1,360 hospitalized patients and more than 1,000 positive tests in the past 24 hours! Lorestan is another province in alarming situation.
Dr. Gooya, head of Center for Contagious Diseases in the Ministry of Health expressed his concern over the next wave. He admits schools and universities are points of infections but fails to mention why the Health Minister and the regime is so insistent on reopening these petri dishes. Despite previous statements by regime officials, Gooya believes vaccination alone cannot be the solution to the COVID-19 crisis. He confirmed previous reports on overlooking TB during COVID-19 pandemic, reporting a surge in number of cases and deaths due to Tuberculosis.
According to the Ministry of Health, total of 71,358,277 shots have been administered in Iran since February 9 and only 23,343,118 (27.78% of population) have received both doses of these vaccines. While health experts warn 80-90% of population must be fully vaccinated before any of the restrictions are lifted, the Islamic Republic has already begun to reopen shrines, gyms, wedding venues, cinemas,… Education Ministry and Science Ministry have announced schools and universities will hold in-person classes from mid-November, while only about 35% of students 12-17 have received both doses of the unapproved and unsafe Sinopharm!
The Ministry of Health Spokesperson claimed 181 have died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours and 7,515 tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Professor of Epidemiology at Tehran University believes these numbers must be multiplied by 7 and Civil Registration Organization data show more than 294,000 have died of the disease since February 2020. Graphs illustrate the ongoing crisis in Iran and forming of the new wave.
R0: 2.10
Total: 5,773,419 (+7,515)
Dead: 123,876 (+181)
Recovered: 5,309,992
Critical: 4,840 (-84)
Active Cases: 339,551 (-7,677)
Total Tests: 33,898,978
Cover: Hadi Zand
