Speed of Corona Infection in Iran: “15 People Per Hour”

Corona in Iran has so far infected 9,000 people and caused 354 deaths. Parliamentary representatives have questioned why the city of Qom was not quarantined from the beginning. Meanwhile, a statistical review showed that the speed of corona infection in Iran is 15 people per hour.

New official statistics from the Ministry of Health show that the number of people infected with coronavirus across the country has reached 9,000 and the death toll from the virus has reached 354 people.

Kianoosh Jahanpour, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health on Wednesday evening, March 21, and after the end of the coronavirus task force information committee meeting at the Ministry of Health, announced 958 new cases of coronavirus infection. So far, 2,953 people have recovered.

Speed of Corona Infection: 15 People Per Hour

The website “Asr-e Iran” on Wednesday, March 21, in an analytical report and based on statistics published since the first days of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, wrote that “15 people per hour are infected with corona in Iran and in every hour one to two people lose their lives due to corona”.

In this report, referring to the fact that “a record of 45 infections per hour has been recorded in the country, meaning approximately one infection every 2 minutes,” it was stated that this number reflects the rapid spread of this virus in Iran, which was recorded on March 17 and brought the number of infected people to more than 1,000 in one day.

According to Asr-e Iran, the meaning of these numbers and figures is that “the government has not been able to properly handle the spread of this disease and society has not yet accepted the widespread nature of this virus”.

Opposition to the quarantine of Qom city as the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak on February 19, and the failure to inform the public in a timely and transparent manner about the extent of contamination in different parts of the country caused the speed of coronavirus infection in Iran to reach 45 people per hour.

Highest Death Rate in 40 Years

Tehran, Qom, and Isfahan are currently at the top of infected cities in Iran. According to Asr-e Iran, based on official statistics until March 8, every 1 to 1.5 hours daily, one person lost their life due to corona in Iran. Statistics report 18 to 21 daily deaths. This is while statistics from March 8 reported 49 deaths in one day. That is, one death due to corona every half hour; two people per hour.

However, the highest death toll was recorded on Tuesday, March 10. On that day, 54 people died within 24 hours due to corona, meaning approximately three people lost their lives per hour. Asr-e Iran considered this statistic “the largest death toll in Iran over the past 40 years”.

Qom Has Been Afflicted

February 19, 1399 (in the Iranian calendar) can be recorded in Iran’s official calendar so that everyone remembers that on this day, the quarantine of Qom city, as the epicenter of coronavirus transmission, was opposed. The force of the Ministry of Health and part of the government could not overcome the opposition. It has not yet been determined exactly where the source of opposition came from.

Parliamentary representatives are asking with “what motive” Qom was not quarantined from the beginning? Because of “demagogic and superstitious beliefs”? Who “intentionally or unintentionally” did not take the people’s lives seriously.

Ali Motahari, a parliamentary representative, asked on Wednesday in an interview with Etemaad Online which institution had been “negligent” in this matter? “What factor,” “who,” and with “what motive” prevented the quarantine of Qom from day one? “Did the Ministry of Health neglect this, or were there resistances based on demagogic and superstitious beliefs in Qom?”

Motahari asked: “Was the custodian of the Fatima Masumeh Shrine involved in preventing Qom’s quarantine?” He called for legal prosecution of those who “are responsible for people’s lives” and “interfered in specialized medical work”.

Ahmad Hamti, representative from Semnan and member of the parliament’s Health Commission, also said that quarantining Qom is now too late and “would not help”. He told the ILNA news agency: “When the source is a specific point (an indirect reference to Qom), it should have been quarantined so this would not have happened”.

Gholamreza Heidari, a reformist parliamentary representative, sparked the investigation into this issue. Two days ago, he asked the Judiciary to summon the clerics and authorities who resisted preventing the spread of coronavirus.

This parliamentary representative criticized the failure to implement restrictions and preventive bans in Qom and the entry of people into the pilgrimage centers of this city and said: “The Judiciary should be demanded to explain what is the ruling of the cleric and scholar who resisted and prevented preventive measures and restrictions for public places from starting sooner?”

Rouhani’s Complaint: No One Sat Idle

The responsibility of leading the coronavirus task force has so far been with the Ministry of Health, but today it was announced that with the approval of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, this responsibility has been transferred to Hassan Rouhani, the President.

Social media users, with the rise and spread of corona, followed the absence of Rouhani in the public space with the hashtag #Rouhani-where-are-you.

According to Iranian news agencies, the President at Wednesday’s cabinet session on March 21, emphasizing that “everyone must take the corona problem seriously,” considered the world’s single recipe for dealing with corona to be minimizing movement within and outside cities.

The President also complained that “in our government it has been advertised like this, for example, the President has no responsibility, the Interior Minister has no responsibility, only God’s servant, the Minister of Health, is burdened and all the burden is on him,” adding that the Minister of Health and all medical staff and personnel have a heavy responsibility and continue to have it.

According to Rouhani, to deal with the coronavirus and “provide the people’s daily needs,” the entire government structure and ministers are involved.

In another part of his remarks, while emphasizing that the coronavirus should not be underestimated, he did not allow exaggeration about it to be “more than what the reality is”.

Rouhani had previously, and after the first meeting of the National Corona Task Force, in response to demands to reduce working hours and close some gatherings and ceremonies, said that “this is a plot by our enemies to drag the country into closure by spreading fear in society”.

Source: DW