Coronavirus in Iran | Warning about Occurrence of ‘Seventh Wave’ in Spring

While the National Corona Taskforce has allowed Nowruz travels for vehicles whose owners have received three vaccine doses, a member of the National Corona Taskforce is asking people not to travel during Nowruz holidays.

Hamid Souri told the IRNA news agency that the seventh wave of coronavirus may occur in spring of next year. He also asked parents not to take their children shopping outside.

According to Iranian health authorities, in the sixth wave of coronavirus, children accounted for 20 percent of infections.

Many experts have expressed concern that the National Corona Taskforce has only imposed vaccine restrictions on drivers of passenger vehicles and has no plan to control the condition of passengers in these vehicles.

Babak Eshrati, an epidemiology specialist, told Jam-e Jam newspaper that if government officials announce that travel is allowed without restriction, it would be better to also provide necessary training to citizens on how to travel safely.

Meanwhile, many believe that crowding in shopping centers at the threshold of Nowruz may also lead to wider spread of the virus.

The health deputy of Semnan University of Medical Sciences warned against “normalization” during Nowruz days. Saeed Kassaiyan says the conditions of year-end shopping may lead to a new wave.

The spokesman of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences also predicted that the sixth wave may continue through this year’s Nowruz. Pejman Aghdak said: “Given the number of patients admitted to ICU wards in hospitals, we should consider the possibility of mortality.”

Official statistics show that approximately six to eight million eligible people in Iran have not been vaccinated.

Health authorities in some provinces have also reported low rates of administering the third dose of vaccine, which based on the total population of 84 million, has not yet reached 30 percent.

Source: Voice of America