“Alert Status” for Corona in Sistan and Baluchestan; Zahedan Representative: People Are Forced to Go Out
Local authorities in Sistan and Baluchestan province report an escalating trend in the spread of coronavirus in the region, and Iran’s Ministry of Health has placed the province on “alert status”; meanwhile, the Zahedan representative in parliament says more than 74 percent of people are below the food security line and are forced to leave their homes to work.
Alim Yarmohammadi, Zahedan’s representative in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, told IRNA that a large number of residents in the province are workers who are not covered by any government livelihood programs and are forced to “work in order to provide food for their families.”
Alim Yarmohammadi said on Sunday, May 18, to “IRNAplus”: Quarantine and health protocols worked for a while, but when “they see their families falling apart due to lack of food, they are forced to work.”
The parliament member also said: No matter how many health protocols we provide them, when they have to obtain their drinking water with jerry cans using unhygienic methods, the situation doesn’t change. We need to fundamentally think about improving their livelihoods.
The statements of this parliament member, who had previously referred to food poverty in Sistan and Baluchestan province, were released after health authorities warned about the “critical” state of the coronavirus situation in the province and the necessity of complying with quarantine regulations.
Including Mohammad Hashemi Shahri, head of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, who said on Saturday: Positive cases in recent days have seen an “unprecedented increase” and on some days, 20 to 40 people are added to the number of infected patients daily.
The National Corona Combating Headquarters declared the status of most cities in Sistan and Baluchestan province as “white” until last week, and schools in the province were also among those that reopened on Saturday for one month.
Girls Dropping Out of School and Joining Religious Seminaries
Concurrently with the Zahedan representative’s warning to parliament about severe poverty in Sistan and Baluchestan province, an education official also reported the dropout of children and adolescents, especially girls, moving towards religious seminaries.
Hamid Reza Rakhshani, director general of education and training in Sistan and Baluchestan, told ILNA that among the cities in the province, the situation in Zahedan, which “has the highest rate of migration and marginalization with a very large population at the national level,” is worse than other cities in the province and has the highest rate of school dropouts.
He also said the dropout rate of female students in this province is higher than males, and parents of girls in some areas of the province, especially in the second phase of elementary school, “due to the mixed nature of students,” do not allow their presence in such classes, and most students who reach the first middle school level head to religious seminaries.
Source: Radio Farda
