Coronavirus in Khuzestan: Interior Minister Declares Special Status
As the coronavirus crisis continues in Khuzestan province, the Interior Minister has declared a special status and called on all Iranian government agencies to “direct their opportunities, resources, and capabilities toward this province.”
Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli on Tuesday, March 3rd, while referring to the declaration of red status in Khuzestan province, stated that in all provinces except Khuzestan, “cases of coronavirus infection have decreased.”
This Iranian government official says that the borders of Khuzestan province are currently closed and only Iranians who had traveled to Iraq can return there, and they will also be tested for coronavirus.
In recent days, Khuzestan has witnessed a widespread wave of coronavirus infections, with the province’s medical resources announcing that they are facing a shortage of nurses and beds to treat patients. This situation ultimately led to the declaration of a special status in Khuzestan province starting Tuesday.
Mr. Rahmani Fazli also emphasized in his Tuesday statements, referring to the prohibition of movement in Khuzestan province, that this situation will continue for another two weeks.
He stated: “Our effort is to return normal conditions to Khuzestan and we are seeking to change the trend. 12,500 tests are conducted daily by the Ministry of Health, and the armed forces have also announced their readiness to provide their capacities and facilities.”
According to a report from Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences in Ahvaz, the number of coronavirus tests taken from Khuzestan residents on Tuesday set a new record, with 14,000 tests taken from individuals suspected of having coronavirus in the past 24 hours.
The spokesperson for Khuzestan province’s coronavirus management headquarters also provided statistics on the rate of coronavirus transmission in the province, saying that each patient with coronavirus in the province infects 123 other people, and until this number drops below 100, the disease trend in Khuzestan will not decline.
Currently, 12 cities in Khuzestan province are in red status, which are: Ahvaz, Karun, Shushtar, Shadegan, Khorramshahr, Dezful, Sosangerd, Abadan, Mahshahr, Ramhormoz, Dasht-e Azadegan, and Hoveyzeh.
According to official Iranian statistics, so far 1,648,174 people have been definitively infected with coronavirus throughout the country and the number of victims of this virus has reached 60,267 people.
However, the aforementioned figures are disputed, and in addition to experts, some other institutions in Iran believe the actual number of coronavirus infections and victims to be three to four times higher than the official figures.
Source: Radio Farda
