Coronavirus in Iran: Death Toll Expected to Rise Over “Next Four Weeks”
As limited coronavirus vaccination is set to begin in Iran on Tuesday, February 10, Masoud Mardani, a member of the National Coronavirus Task Force, has predicted a surge in deaths in the coming weeks, stating: “Over the next four weeks, we will witness another increase in coronavirus deaths in the country.”
Mardani told the IRNA news agency that “in most provinces of the country” there has been an increase in people seeking medical care, and if the new wave comes alongside “mutated coronavirus strains,” “the number of cases and death rates will be higher.”
He also cited declining adherence to health protocols, increased domestic travel, holding cultural festivals like Fajr, reopening of businesses and offices, and increased international travel as factors that have led to “a kind of normalization” spreading throughout the country.
Mohammad Talebpour, director of Sina Hospital, has stated that we should “expect a dangerous phase of the coronavirus disease” with this phase expected to occur “at the end of Bahman month” (mid-February).
He emphasized that coronavirus “is currently fire under ashes, and if it flares up, it may spread very extensively.”
In another statement, the head of Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences in Ahvaz warned on Sunday, February 8, about the rising coronavirus wave in Khuzestan province.
Farhad Aboulnezadian said that according to statistics and investigations, the new coronavirus wave in Khuzestan province is “faster” than the first wave.
While he did not provide specific figures, IRNA reported on Saturday that according to Gholamreza Shariati, the governor of Khuzestan, hospitalizations due to coronavirus in Khuzestan have increased from 85 people daily to 260 people, a threefold increase.
Local officials in Kermanshah and Hormozgan provinces have also reported a rapid increase in the number of patients in those provinces.
Mahmoud Hosseinpour, deputy head of Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, stated that “coronavirus is surging again in villages of the province” and cited “holding wedding ceremonies, funeral rites, travel, and family visits” as reasons for this crisis.
Alireza Zali, commander of coronavirus response operations in Tehran metropolis, also described statistical changes related to coronavirus in the capital on Sunday as “serious” and warned of an increase in coronavirus cases in Tehran in the coming weeks.
According to the latest official statistics from the Ministry of Health, more than 1 million and 470 thousand people in Iran have been infected with coronavirus, and more than 58,500 people have died.
Official Health Ministry statistics on coronavirus have always been questioned, and officials from the Medical System Organization have estimated the actual number of victims in Iran to be three to four times higher than the officially announced figures.
Source: Radio Farda
