Head of Semnan Medical Sciences University: 30% of Province Residents Have Contracted COVID-19
The head of Semnan province’s medical sciences university says that according to statistics so far, 30% of the province’s residents have contracted the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
Taking into account Semnan province’s population in the 2016 census, the stated percentage includes at least 210,000 citizens of the province, which exceeds the total confirmed cases announced by the Iranian government across the entire country.
Dr. Navid Danai, head of Semnan province’s medical sciences university, told the ISNA news agency in an interview published on the morning of July 21, that since the outbreak began in Iran, more than 1,700 infected individuals or those showing virus symptoms have been hospitalized in the province; although the number of people testing positive was reported as 607.
It is unclear from Dr. Danai’s remarks whether all hospitalized patients were definitively tested with symptoms or only some of them were examined.
Navid Danai said that since the announcement of the coronavirus outbreak, “three thousand tests” have been conducted in Semnan university hospitals.
The head of Semnan province’s medical sciences university also states that “according to statistics so far, 30% of the province’s residents have contracted the coronavirus and the other 70% are at risk of contracting this virus.”
Mr. Danai did not provide details on how the statistics were compiled, although he stated that two screening rounds were conducted and completed in the province.
Based on the 2016 census, more than 702,000 people reside in Semnan province, and if the statistics released on Sunday are considered, at least 210,000 of them have contracted COVID-19.
According to statements by Sima Sadat Lari, spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Health, on June 21, the total number of patients in the country was reported as more than 202,000. Semnan province ranks as the 30th most populous province in Iran.
Ms. Lari had declared the status of Khuzestan, Hormozgan, Kurdistan, Bushehr, and West Azerbaijan provinces as “red” on Friday; Khuzestan is Iran’s fifth most populous province and the remaining provinces also have significantly larger populations than Semnan. Many other Iranian provinces had also faced crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in previous months.
Iranian officials do not provide detailed and specific breakdowns of infection statistics. Meanwhile, no report has yet been published by independent institutions regarding the method and quality of testing in the country.
From the statements of the head of Semnan province’s medical sciences university, it appears there is a significant discrepancy between the number of tests conducted and the number of hospitalizations in university hospitals, on one hand, and the “statistics” of infections on the other.
Source: Radio Farda
