Health Minister: We will have to live with Corona for at least two years

The Iranian Minister of Health emphasizes that people should be told that the coronavirus is not over, the peak of the disease has not passed, and that living with the virus may take at least two years. The Minister of Education also spoke about combined education in schools.

According to Iranian officials, the coronavirus situation has not yet been contained in the country and people are still in the grip of the virus. The Minister of Health has told the heads of universities and medical schools that living with the virus may take at least two years.

Dr. Saeed Namaki, speaking at a virtual meeting of the deans of universities and medical schools across the country on Sunday, June 21, said that Iran is still in the first wave of COVID-19 and is experiencing the first wave of the coronavirus, but the shape of the first wave of the coronavirus may be different from what was experienced in another province.

Namaki added: "We must believe and tell the people that the coronavirus is not over, the peak of the disease has not passed, and that coronavirus is a complex virus with a hundred thousand faces, and a treatment protocol may work in one area and not work in another."

The Minister of Health has likened the coronavirus to "a leopard-like camel" that can bite, kick, and lash out.

Namaki noted that the behavior of the coronavirus in southern Kerman is completely different from that in Hormozgan or Minab from Bandar Abbas and other cities. Therefore, the coronavirus has a different incidence in different climates, races, and weather.

Regarding people who were infected with the coronavirus or lost their lives, the Minister of Health also said that about 87% of Covid-19 patients suffered from obesity, diabetes, and underlying diseases, and 12.6% of people who died from Covid-19 had no underlying diseases, and among people under 50 years of age, obesity was the main cause of death from the coronavirus.

Why was a red alert declared in five cities in Golestan Province?

According to Iranian officials, the coronavirus has re-emerged in some provinces of the country. For example, five cities in Golestan Province have been declared red. Abdolreza Fazel, the president of the University of Medical Sciences, Golestan Province, told Fars News Agency that the cities of Gonbad-Kavas, Aq Qala, Bandar-e-Torkeman, Maraveh-e-Tappe, and Bandar-e-Gaz are red.

But what factors have caused the spread of COVID-19 in Golestan Province?

A civil activist from Golestan province, who did not want to be named, told DW in response to this question: "The government's policies of normalization or normalization of the situation, followed by the opening of weekly markets in cities, Eid al-Fitr visits, holding weddings and mourning ceremonies, as well as the failure of many to take this deadly disease seriously, are among the factors that caused the rapid spread of the coronavirus."

This civil activist further emphasized that if the government does not implement programs to limit gatherings, if widespread information is not provided, if people do not follow health protocols, and if civil society organizations do not actively participate in this regard, we should expect a widespread epidemic in Golestan Province.

Dispatching 40 special nurses to Khuzestan

But what urgent plans does the government have to contain the coronavirus in the provinces where the red status has been declared?

Dr. Maryam Hazrati, Deputy Director of Nursing at the Ministry of Health, announced the dispatch of 40 special ICU nurses to Khuzestan Province following the increase in the spread of coronavirus in the province.

These nurses were sent to Ahvaz, Abadan, and Dezful for at least 15 days in coordination with the universities of Bushehr, Khorasan Razavi, Tehran, Ardabil, Shahid Beheshti, Yazd, and Neyshabur University.

Combined education for even and odd school students

At the same time, on the sidelines of a visit to the final exam area of ​​Mandegar Alborz High School in Tehran, the Iranian Minister of Education said that life cannot be shut down due to the presence of Corona, and that students will participate in the exam sessions while observing health protocols.

According to Mohsen Haji Mirzaei, school activities in sparsely populated areas will be held as usual, and in densely populated areas, in pairs and odd-numbered groups.

The Minister of Health has also said in this regard that it is impossible to close education in universities and medical schools during the coronavirus pandemic because the type of education is such that not all of it can be provided virtually.

Source: DW