Increasing spread of coronavirus: Red status continues in several Iranian provinces

Despite warnings, the spread of the coronavirus has further worsened the situation regarding the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. The situation has been declared red in the provinces of Khuzestan, Kermanshah, Khorasan Razavi, East Azerbaijan, Hormozgan, and Kurdistan.

Iranian authorities have reported a surge in coronavirus cases in a number of Iranian provinces. Government officials have claimed that the cause of the spread of the disease should be sought in the "irresponsible attitude and carelessness of the people."

According to statistics announced on Wednesday, June 17, by Fakhri Lari, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, the number of people infected with the coronavirus has increased by more than 2,600 in the past 24 hours.

This news indicates that the number of victims of COVID-19 has once again reached three digits, reaching 120 in the past 24 hours. The number of victims was announced as 115 a day earlier.

Thus, according to official statistics, the total number of COVID-19 patients in Iran has reached more than 195,000. According to the Ministry of Health, the total number of deaths due to coronavirus in Iran has reached 9,185.

Experts are skeptical of the official statistics announced by the Islamic Republic. A spokesman for the Ministry of Health of the Islamic Republic of Iran has claimed that 1.32 million coronavirus tests have been conducted in Iran so far.

Iraj Harirchi, Deputy Minister of Health, who traveled to Sanandaj to assess the situation, announced in an interview with the official news agency of the Islamic Republic of Iran, IRNA, that it is possible to conduct 25,000 daily tests to diagnose coronavirus infection in Iran.

Red situation in several provinces of Iran

Fakhri Lari, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, has declared the situation in the provinces of Khuzestan, East Azerbaijan, Khorasan Razavi, Kermanshah, Hormozgan, and Kurdistan as red.

This is while the situation in some other provinces of Iran is also unsatisfactory. For example, Abdolreza Fazel, the president of Golestan University of Medical Sciences, has announced that the situation in the cities of Gonbad-Kavos, Aqqola, Bandar-e-Torkeman, Maraveh-tepe, and Bandar-e-Gaz is red, and with the exception of only two cities (Kordkoy and Gomishan), the situation in all other cities of this province is yellow.

The president of Golestan University of Medical Sciences has attributed the increase in COVID-19 cases in the province to “failure to observe hygiene measures, social distancing, and increased visits.” Abdolreza Fazel has also criticized the lack of wearing masks in public gatherings.

“Stay at home conditions”

In a report sent from Hormozgan, ISNA News Agency discussed the insufficient support provided by government officials to the people.

The news agency's report quoted Reza Sadeghi, an artist from Hormozgan province, as saying: "It is very simple to say 'stay at home'. But the conditions for people to stay at home must also be provided."

In an interview with ISNA, Reza Sadeghi said: "Unfortunately, the situation in Hormozgan, and especially in the city of Bandar Abbas, regarding the coronavirus is very acute, frightening, and strange."

This artist from Hormozgan has asked officials to "be more supportive of the people and make it easier for them to stay at home."

In this interview, Sadeghi emphasized that those who are worried about food and meeting their families' needs cannot be forcibly kept at home unless the government provides for their basic needs.

Iraj Harirchi also announced in an interview with IRNA that the coronavirus outbreak in Iran will continue. He said that Iran will continue to be affected by the disease in the summer months.

The Deputy Minister of Health has considered the change in people's beliefs regarding the spread of the coronavirus to be very dangerous and warned that the virus will not disappear even with the start of the hot season.

Source: DW