Coronavirus in Iran: 77 Cities on Red Alert with All Medical Centers on Standby
As coronavirus hospitalizations surged by more than 60 percent over one week in Iran, the Ministry of Health announced that all medical centers across the country are on standby to combat the sixth wave of the disease.
According to Kamal Haidari, Deputy Minister of Health, given the recent upward trend in the number of infected people resulting from the spread of coronavirus and its new variants, “all personnel and service delivery units at the first level, including comprehensive health service centers, health bases, and health houses, have been placed on alert.”
A member of the National Scientific Committee for COVID-19 also predicted that in the coming days, “the daily Omicron figures could reach 300 to 400 thousand people, provided they are tested.”
Payam Tabarsi warned that with increasing cases, “certainly some patients will need to be hospitalized, which could become a challenge for the country’s health system.”
He described the Omicron peak period as between one month to 45 days, saying: “Omicron numbers will rise, and we must help control the disease by implementing restrictions.”
According to the Ministry of Health’s Public Relations Center, currently 77 cities are in red status, 179 cities in orange status, 181 cities in yellow status, and 11 cities in blue status.
According to Mizan News Agency, in the second week of the sixth coronavirus wave, new hospitalizations reached 18,435 people. The previous week, new hospitalizations were 11,246 cases.
Based on this report, new hospitalizations this week increased by 64 percent compared to the previous week, with an increase of 7,189 cases.
The report adds that this increase of 7,189 cases in the second week of the wave is unprecedented since the beginning of 1399 (March 2020).
Experts are calling for a complete shutdown of government offices, private companies, banks, any gatherings and ceremonies, in-person education, and non-essential businesses for two weeks in order to overcome the new peak of this disease in Iran.
However, ISNA News Agency reported on Wednesday that despite the warnings issued, no specific restrictions, particularly for employee attendance to control the current situation, have been implemented.
The report stated: “This is while inquiries from some organizations show that recently, given the rapid spread of Omicron, employee infections have been considerable, but organizations have not yet resorted to remote work and full attendance is mandatory. The reason organizations have not shifted to remote work is the lack of formal notification from the government or relevant authorities.”
Source: Radio Farda
