Third wave of coronavirus in Iran; Cases double in some provinces

Coronavirus cases in Iran have set a new record, with officials reporting a doubling of infection rates in some provinces. The head of Tehran’s coronavirus task force says the third wave of coronavirus has arrived and restrictions must be reimposed.

According to the Health Ministry spokesperson, in the 24 hours ending on Tuesday, the first day of Mehr month, 3,712 new cases of coronavirus were identified in Iran, and 178 people died in connection with COVID-19.

According to the IRNA news agency, Sima Sadat Lari says that so far 429,193 people in Iran have been “definitively” infected with coronavirus and the number of victims has reached 24,656.

Based on the Health Ministry’s assessment of Iran’s 31 provinces, 24 provinces are in a red situation regarding coronavirus transmission and five provinces are in a warning situation. This is the third consecutive day that coronavirus spread has entered a critical phase in almost all regions of Iran.

Daily infection record

The situation that has prevailed in 29 Iranian provinces over the past three days has no precedent since seven months ago and the formal confirmation of coronavirus entry into the country. The number of new cases in the first day of Mehr month was also unprecedented and is considered a new record.

Sima Sadat Lari cited the declining trend in compliance with health protocols and mask usage in recent days as the reason for the increase in cases and deaths from COVID-19.

Experts believe that the reopenings of recent weeks and issues such as mourning ceremonies and travel during the month of Muharram are now showing their effects on increased cases after three weeks, as was predicted.

The Health Ministry spokesperson said yesterday that some provinces did not face the first wave of coronavirus spread in Esfand, saying: “Some provinces have experienced only one wave of disease while others are in the second wave and some are entering the third wave of the disease.”

Possible entry into the third wave of coronavirus transmission

Given that 29 provinces are in red and warning situations and this has persisted in recent days, it appears that the third wave has somewhat encompassed all of Iran.

Alirez Zali, commander of the coronavirus task force in Tehran metropolis, confirmed on the first day of Mehr month in a conversation with IRNA: “Before the second wave of coronavirus in Tehran, we witnessed statistical ups and downs in a sinusoidal manner, but with the emergence of the second wave in Tehran province, this increase in statistics has become longer and in recent days, based on our statistical analysis, we are likely experiencing the formation of the third wave.”

He says the difference of the third wave with previous waves is that the number of hospitalized patients compared to outpatient patients is increasing much more rapidly and if “epidemiological studies next week confirm this week’s statistical indicators” it will mean definite entry into the third wave.

Request to reimpose restrictions

Zali, given Tehran’s current conditions, called for the reimposition of some restrictions and said: “We need more restrictions to be imposed, while these restrictions must certainly be implemented with greater emphasis on compliance with health protocols and health matters.”

Shahnam Arshi, deputy director of the Communicable Diseases Management Center at the Health Ministry, also said on the first day of Mehr month that given the increase in cases and hospitalizations in the past two weeks and considering differences in different regions, it appears that some provinces have entered the second or third wave of epidemic.

He says the cause of the new epidemic wave is largely related to “travel and non-compliance with health protocols, holding gatherings, weddings, mourning ceremonies and funeral services.”

Doubling of cases in some provinces

The deputy director of the Communicable Diseases Management Center at the Health Ministry told the IRNA news agency that in the past two weeks “in many provinces including Tehran and Qom” the rate of infection and hospitalization due to coronavirus has doubled.

Tehran, Qom, Isfahan, Lorestan, Ardabil and East Azerbaijan are among provinces whose situations are described as more concerning than other provinces.

Iraj Harirchi, deputy minister of the Health Ministry, recently reported the occurrence of a “coronavirus explosion” and a several-fold increase in new hospitalization cases in some cities, saying these have increased four times in a city like Tabriz and 16 times in Qom.

The first wave of the coronavirus epidemic formed in many Iranian provinces in Esfand and Farvardin, the second wave in Khordad and Tir, and for about two weeks some areas have been experiencing the third stage of the virus’s peak and spread.

Cases tripled in three weeks

Alirez Zali’s statements about the rapid increase in cases and hospitalizations in the third wave are also visible in the Health Ministry’s official statistics.

In the two previous waves, in each of the months of Farvardin and Khordad, in just a few days the daily cases exceeded the 3,000 mark, but in the past five days this has happened four days with an accelerating upward trend.

This trend is alarming and concerning in that the number of cases has more than tripled over three weeks. On the 12th of Shahrivar, the number of identified patients in one day was reported as 1,136, and today it is 3,712.

Source: DW