Khuzestan Health Center: Corona cases have exceeded expectations

Mohammad Alavi, head of the Khuzestan Health Center, stated in an interview with state television that cases of the new coronavirus in the province have "exceeded expectations."

Dr. Alavi says, "Coronavirus cases in Khuzestan have exceeded our expectations. Of course, in recent days, coronavirus laboratories have also become more active and sampling has increased."

He also described the rate of testing in the province as lower than the national standard, adding, "We must carry out the second stage of screening by increasing the number of samples taken to detect the disease."

The head of the Khuzestan Health Center has not announced specific statistics on official cases and deaths in the province, although in part of his interview he said, "Out of 180 positive cases in one day, we have only had 40 hospitalized cases, and the ratio of outpatient cases to hospitalizations has been approximately four to one."

While various doubts have been expressed about official statistics in Iran, the Ministry of Health also refuses to disclose infection statistics by province.

In recent days, reports have been published of normalization of travel in Tehran and some other provinces, which has fueled concerns about a resurgence of coronavirus infections.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health also said that the ministry's policy is not to "declare white areas" and that the declaration of white status in some cities "had no official source."

The ministry has published a new list of "red counties".

Alireza Vahabzadeh, head of the virtual space of the Corona Countermeasures Headquarters, wrote on his Twitter account, "The risk of Corona is definitely still present for all cities, and any negligence may cause a new peak and upward trend."

Source: Radio Farda