The "dark" days of Sistan and Baluchestan; cemeteries full, hospitals empty of beds

The situation with the coronavirus outbreak in Sistan and Baluchestan is dire. The Deputy Minister of Health has left for the province. The province has been quarantined and people have been invited to observe health protocols and stay at home. In many areas, people do not even have drinking water at home.

The coronavirus outbreak in Sistan and Baluchestan is dire, with “1,000 cases” a day, according to Chabahar’s representative in parliament. Moinuddin Saeedi warned in an interview with ILNA that the province is “facing a humanitarian disaster.”

Iraj Harirchi, Deputy Minister of Health, said today (July 20) during a visit to Zahedan that "for the first time, the number of outpatient and hospitalized cases of coronavirus in Sistan and Baluchestan province has exceeded the national average."

Regarding the number of infections and deaths due to coronavirus, one of the citizens and social activists of this province wrote on Twitter, "Corona claims one victim every 90 minutes."

Referring to the role of the Delta strain in the spread of the coronavirus, the Deputy Minister of Health said: "The Delta virus entered the country from the southeast, and given the conditions that have arisen in Afghanistan, there is a possibility of increased immigration to Iran from various routes."

This is while doctors and media activists have been warning for weeks about the worsening situation due to the Delta virus entering Iran from the borders of Sistan and Baluchestan; warnings that apparently came too late and have only just sent the deputy minister to Zahedan to assess the situation.

"We know people are under pressure, but they should cooperate."

This afternoon, at a meeting of the provincial headquarters for managing and combating the coronavirus in Sistan and Baluchestan, Iraj Harirchi announced the quarantine of the province and the complete closure of official borders.

The Deputy Minister of Health also asked the public to comply with health guidelines, saying: "We know that people are under pressure and are experiencing economic difficulties, but we ask people, especially in the southern provinces, to cooperate so that by complying with the guidelines and rapid and widespread vaccination, we can get rid of the disease in the near future."

“Just keep in mind, we don’t even have drinking water.”

But can a shutdown be the solution to Sistan and Baluchestan's problems? According to social activists, in the absence of government jobs and factories, many people in Sistan and Baluchestan province make a living by selling food and fruits on the side of the road, and shutting down their businesses is not possible given the lack of any government financial support.

A Zahedan citizen, reacting to the call for residents of Sistan and Baluchestan to stay home, writes: "Should we stay home? Just be aware that we also have to buy drinking water from outside."

Sistan and Baluchestan deprived of everything

The lack of vaccination, the shortage of coronavirus test kits, the lack of screening centers, and the infrastructure that, according to the Chabahar representative, “is even lower than half of the national index in the south of Sistan and Baluchestan” have now brought this province to a stage where medical staff are talking about a “black situation.” Social activists in this province write on Twitter: “Ten counties in Sistan and Baluchestan do not have hospitals, and sometimes a person needs to travel more than 100 kilometers to get treatment and reach a hospital.”

The long-standing pain of the people of Sistan and Baluchestan, which is now becoming more apparent with such crises and perhaps for a few days will draw the attention of the authorities and central authorities to this remote region, is the severe deprivation of all basic facilities.

“Wearing a mask makes no sense!”

Iraj Harirchi said in a meeting with Sistan and Baluchestan officials today that this province has the lowest rate of compliance with health guidelines in the country, and added: "When people are so inattentive to wearing masks, we will definitely witness its complications and dangers."

Obaid Malek Raisi, a teacher and social activist, said in a report published by the Iran newspaper: "I myself am a teacher in the border area. The water we used was the water used by livestock, unsanitary. When we use this water, observing health protocols no longer makes sense. Wearing a mask makes no sense."

Like the cries of Khuzestan, the voices of Sistan and Baluchestan and the problems of its people either do not reach the ears of the authorities or they reach them late, and each time a disaster is responsible for delivering this message to their ears: this time the messenger's name is "Delta"!

Source: DW