Six thousand medical staff in Tehran infected and number of critically ill coronavirus patients increases
About 6,000 medical workers in Tehran have been infected with the coronavirus. The Ministry of Health has warned of the consequences of “medical staff fatigue.” Tehran province is in a red zone, and local officials have suggested extending restrictions.
The Deputy Director of Education and Research of the Medical System Organization says that due to the increase in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations of patients with COVID-19 in recent days, the conditions for medical staff have become "more acute" and the number of infections among them is very high.
According to the ILNA news agency, Alireza Salimi, noting that the situation in the capital has worsened, added that about six thousand medical staff in Tehran have been infected with the coronavirus and that 150 of them have lost their lives so far.
This situation is almost the same in other cities and provinces of Iran, proportional to the population. Mohammad Karimian, president of Ilam University of Medical Sciences, announced yesterday that 657 healthcare workers in this province have been infected with COVID-19.
Ilam province has a population of less than 600,000, and the Tehran metropolitan area has a population of about 9 million, according to the Statistics Center. Hossein Mohsenzadeh, director of Mashhad Pediatrics Superspecialty Hospital, told IRNA on Wednesday that 80 of the 500 employees at this medical center have been infected with the coronavirus.
Worrying fatigue of medical staff
In a press conference on August 5, the Ministry of Health spokesperson warned about fatigue among medical staff, calling it “one of the concerns and worrisome issues of these days.” He urged people to reduce the workload on healthcare workers by following health recommendations.
According to Sima Sadat Lari, 2,697 new cases of coronavirus were identified in Iran in the 24 hours leading up to noon on Wednesday, and 185 patients with COVID-19 have lost their lives.
Thus, the total number of people infected with the coronavirus in Iran reached 317,483 and the number of victims reached 17,802.
Lari says that out of Iran's 31 provinces, 14 are still in red status and 12 are in alert status, as in previous days.
Increase in critically ill patients, shortage of intensive care beds
According to IRNA, the deputy head of the Medical System Organization said at a press conference on the "National Campaign of Empathy with Health Defenders" that the pattern of visits to hospitals related to Corona has changed compared to March, and now the visitors are "generally people in poor health who need special beds, which is why we are facing a shortage of intensive care beds."
Alireza Salimi said: "One of the serious shortages now is the problem of a shortage of human resources in intensive care units, and these forces are tired and exhausted. Fatigue lowers the body's immunity and increases the possibility of contracting the disease despite the presence of personal protective equipment."
He pointed out that in all countries of the world, the possibility of people on the front lines of caring for coronavirus patients being infected is several times higher than that of ordinary people, and added that in Iran, ICU workers are three times more likely to be infected with COVID-19 than ordinary people.
In recent days, President Hassan Rouhani's recent remarks about the need to hold "majestic and magnificent" Muharram mourning ceremonies even in cities with red status have been met with widespread criticism.
Rouhani said at a meeting of the National Task Force to Combat Coronavirus on Saturday that Muharram ceremonies must be held in compliance with health guidelines. Critics say that such ceremonies do not allow for compliance with health recommendations such as physical distancing.
Coronavirus prohibitions and restrictions on Muharram ceremonies
Iraj Harirchi, Deputy General of the Ministry of Health, announced on Wednesday the preparation of a manual for holding Muharram ceremonies, which has been prepared in coordination with delegations, trustees, the Islamic Propaganda Organization, and other relevant centers.
According to ISNA, referring to the ban on some special ceremonies in the provinces, he said: "We will not have carpet-rolling, palm-rolling, the processions we saw in Bushehr and Khuzestan, the ceremony of pouring water in Ardabil and Zanjan, etc., during Muharram this year."
The Deputy Minister of Health stated that 80,000 delegations are operating in Iran, and that 8,000 Health Ministry observers have been assigned to monitor compliance with health guidelines during mourning ceremonies. He also encouraged citizens to hold ceremonies in small, family gatherings in accordance with the slogan "Every house has a Husseiniyeh."
However, given the continued red alert status in most provinces, some local officials have called for the imposition or extension of coronavirus restrictions.
Alireza Zali, commander of the Tehran Coronavirus Operations Headquarters, says that this headquarters and the Tehran Governor's Office have submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Interior's Security, Law Enforcement, and Social Affairs Committee to extend restrictions in the capital for another week, and they hope it will be approved.
Zali, meanwhile, announced a decrease of about ten percent in the number of coronavirus victims this week compared to last week. The Ministry of Health does not normally publish statistics on coronavirus infections and deaths by city and province.
Over the past three days, the total number of COVID-19 victims across Iran has decreased from 215 to 185. Since the beginning of August, there have only been four days where the number of victims has been less than 200.
Source: DW
