Corona in Iran; 42% of Critically Ill Patients Hospitalized in Tehran

The commander of the Corona Response Headquarters in Tehran, warning about severe exhaustion of medical staff and the volume of family clusters, called for more serious intervention by relevant authorities in implementing new restrictions and reviewing health guidelines.

Alirezа Zali, commander of the Corona Response Headquarters in Tehran Province, emphasized the necessity of greater intervention by supervisory bodies to implement restrictions in the metropolitan city of Tehran, referring to the surge of corona in the capital. He considered the extension of restrictions and closures in Tehran Province insufficient and said: “If we are looking for effectiveness, we must consider more serious interventions.”

Zali on Wednesday, October 30, recalled that more than six thousand beds in Tehran hospitals are occupied by corona patients: “We need more restrictions with higher deterrent power. The face of this epidemic looks very brutal. Health guidelines must be reviewed.”

The commander of the Corona Response Headquarters in Tehran Province warned that medical staff has become severely exhausted and tired due to the wear and tear of corona: “If we continue to face an increase in the prevalence of corona disease, considering the limited capacity of medical potential and health personnel, we will face problems.”

He simultaneously requested that the Ministry of Health increase the quota of medical staff in Tehran as soon as possible. Mehr News Agency, quoting Zali, wrote: “In the past 24 hours, approximately 852 new patients were hospitalized in Tehran hospitals due to corona infection, of which more than 165 patients required specialized care units.”

Zali recommended that anyone showing clinical symptoms of corona, including fever, muscle pain, changes in smell and taste, and fatigue, must strictly observe a two-week quarantine. He added that Tehran is facing a significant volume of “family clusters”; whereas this phenomenon was less during the first peak and second wave: “Currently, many times parents along with their children come to us, and they also have more obscure clinical conditions.”

Zali had previously, by emphasizing Tehran’s critical situation, considered one-week closures ineffective in reducing the spread of corona.

For three days, the number of corona victims in Iran has been reported as more than 300 people. Responsible officials are reporting the critical situation while official statistics, considering burials and cemetery ground evidence, are not credible. ISNA News Agency, quoting Masoud Mardani, a member of the Scientific Committee of the Corona Headquarters, wrote: “In order to know how many people actually die daily in reality, this number should be multiplied by 2.5 to arrive at the actual figure.”

Minoo Mohraz, another member of this committee, attributed the non-closures to political issues. She described Tehran’s situation as horrific and said that it is too late for quarantine: “At least the way left for us is to announce two weeks of holidays so the disease subsides. Perhaps the burden of hospital visits will be reduced slightly.”

Saeid Namaki, Iran’s Health Minister in recent months, has continuously complained about people’s “indifference” and lack of budget provision, while simultaneously praising the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. In his latest complaint, he said: “You cannot manage an epidemic with pleading. The opponent is a virus bomb, and when we tell him why didn’t you wear a mask, he says I don’t believe in corona… How much should I and my colleagues plead? In which part of the world do health ministers and medical personnel plead… Which of our buses comply with health protocol principles. In Tehran, we announced that buses are a source of virus spread, saying that by the end of Ordibehesht additional buses will be added, but not a single bus was added.”

Namaki, who apparently has serious factional differences with Hassan Rouhani, during a visit to West Azerbaijan, stated and threatened: “If a day comes when the failure in managing the epidemic is charged to the Health Ministry account, my mouth will open and I will say what people did.”

He also considered penalizing people without masks as mere formality and said that only 40% of public transportation passengers wear masks, while at the same time tea kiosks are operating in the streets as places of tight gathering of people.

Hassan Rouhani, in response to the complaints and the health minister’s report on the situation, wrote briefly: “Government officials from Dr. Nobakht, Dr. Hamti to Dr. Rahmani-Fazli have taken helpful and effective measures to the best of their ability. Just as we should not underestimate the danger of the virus, we should not downplay the enemy’s unprecedented anti-human sanctions.”

Rouhani at the end of this text asked Namaki to raise any important issue in the meetings of committee heads on Thursdays.

Source: DW