Daily COVID-19 Deaths in Iran Increased 12-fold Over One Month
With 242 COVID-19 patients dying in a single day, the official death toll from coronavirus in Iran has surpassed 150,000. Over the past month, deaths among COVID-19 patients in Iran have been continuously increasing.
The Health Ministry’s Public Relations and Media Center announced on Sunday, March 20, that nearly 17,000 new cases of coronavirus infection were identified in Iran in the past 24 hours.
New cases decreased by approximately 2,000 compared to the previous day, and nearly 9,000 fewer cases than the Sunday a week prior. Among all coronavirus indicators in Iran, only new cases have shown a downward trend after peaking in February. In the past 24 hours, 2,315 newly identified patients were hospitalized, and the number of patients admitted to intensive care units surpassed 4,000 for the second consecutive day. The number of patients in this section had previously exceeded 4,000 on October 29.
12-fold Increase in Deaths Over One Month
Over the past month, the most significant manifestation of the pandemic’s spread has been the sharp increase in deaths. On February 19, the death toll was 20 people, and by March 20, this number increased more than 12-fold to 242.
In recent weeks, the Omicron variant of coronavirus, which has far greater transmissibility compared to previous variants, has become dominant in Iran, and its impact is evident in the change of coronavirus color-coding for cities and the dramatic increase in cities classified as red (very high-risk).
Yesterday, the Research Deputy of the Health Ministry announced that 337 Iranian cities are now in red status, 64 cities in orange status (high-risk), and 47 cities in yellow status.
Three-quarters of Cities in Red Status
As a result, out of approximately 450 Iranian cities, 401 cities are in very high-risk and high-risk coronavirus status, and no city has a blue (low-risk) status. Approximately three-quarters of all cities have been classified as red.
On February 9, more than 400 Iranian cities were in blue coronavirus status. This situation has changed dramatically in recent weeks, and the number of red-status cities last Saturday doubled compared to a week prior, with 90 additional cities now in such status.
In Iran, the criterion for city color-coding is the number of hospitalized coronavirus patients per 100,000 population. Many experts believe that if this were done based on outpatient visits and the number of positive tests, with increased capacity for testing, it would provide a more accurate and realistic picture of the pandemic situation.
According to Health Ministry statistics, approximately 80,000 COVID-19 diagnostic tests were conducted throughout Iran in the past 24 hours.
Testing Shortage and Slowing Vaccination
The number of tests in recent days has been roughly similar, which is considered very insufficient for a country with a population of 85 million.
Another issue making Iranian society more vulnerable to the sixth wave of the pandemic is the slowdown in vaccination. This issue is particularly evident in the decline of people seeking their second vaccine dose.
Official Health Ministry statistics show that approximately seven million people in Iran have received only one vaccine dose, and many of them either show no interest in receiving the second dose or are delaying it.
In the 24 hours ending March 20, slightly over 319,000 vaccine doses were administered nationwide, of which only about 58,000 were second doses.
The majority of vaccines administered in the past 24 hours were booster doses for those who were previously fully vaccinated. This statistic reflects decreased uptake among the unvaccinated and those who have received only one dose.
To date, 55 million and 43,000 people in Iran have received two vaccine doses, of which 22 million and 214,000 have also been vaccinated for the third time.
Source: DW
