Warning Over In-Person School Activities in Iran: ‘We’ve Been Hit Before and We Will Be Hit Again’

As coronavirus deaths in Iran are on the rise and reports indicate increasing mortality rates among children, education officials continue to insist on keeping schools open and maintaining in-person activities.

Several users on social media have reported that families contracted the coronavirus due to the reopening of schools.

The head of the infectious diseases department at Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran has also deemed in-person schools and exams to be a mistake. Hamid Emadi said, “We’ve been hit before and we will be hit again.”

Previously, a member of the national scientific committee for combating coronavirus stated that in red-zone cities, not only is going to school prohibited, but all movement is also forbidden. Masoud Mardani emphasized in an interview with ISNA news agency that in-person school activities will lead to “increased mortality rates.”

The head of the infectious diseases department at Masih Daneshvari Hospital also says that an increase in coronavirus deaths over the next two to three weeks is “not unexpected.” Payam Tabarsi added that in previous peaks, the closure of schools and educational centers meant that children were not as affected by coronavirus as they are now.

Decision-making regarding in-person or online school activities has been delegated to provincial task forces, but local officials say they follow the orders of the national coronavirus task force.

This task force, following the emphasis of Iran’s president on in-person schooling, avoids closures and emphasizes “smart” management.

This occurs while vaccination of children under 12 years old has not been implemented in Iran.

Although the Ministry of Health has begun using Sinovac and Pastokovac vaccines for the 9 to 12 age group, many parents are concerned about vaccinating their children with these vaccines.

The health deputy of Arak University of Medical Sciences stated that parents have not welcomed vaccinating their children. Ali Alimohammadi told ISNA news agency that approximately 18 percent of children aged 9 to 12 have been vaccinated, a figure that aligns with the national average.

Mehr News Agency reported that finding an empty bed in the pediatric ward in Kerman Province has become “very difficult.” The news agency described Kerman’s situation as critical and reported that 20 percent of hospitalized individuals in Kerman are children under 12 years old.

The head of Kerman University of Medical Sciences said, “If the rate of child hospitalizations increases in a short period of time, we will face a serious crisis.”

Iran’s Ministry of Health report, following inspections of 123,962 schools, shows that the most important violations include inadequate classroom space for the number of students, failure to maintain proper distance between them, failure to maintain proper spacing between chairs, failure to observe mask use among students and school staff, and lack of proper ventilation.

Source: Voice of America