Number of COVID-19 Patients in Iran Surpasses 1.5 Million
Iran’s Ministry of Health announced that with the identification of 8,011 new COVID-19 patients in Iran, the total number of people affected by the disease in the country has surpassed the 1.5 million mark.
According to a report on Tuesday, Esfand 28, by IRNA news agency, Sima Lari, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, stated that with the inclusion of patients identified over the past 24 hours, the total number of COVID-19 patients in Iran has reached 1,534,034.
During this period, 89 more COVID-19 patients died in Iran, and accordingly, the official death toll from the virus in Iran has reached 59,117.
Among the newly identified patients, 690 have been hospitalized, and currently 3,696 COVID-19 patients in Iran are in severe condition.
Although officials of the Islamic Republic release official statistics on COVID-19 infections and deaths to the media on a daily basis, independent sources question the accuracy of these figures.
Non-governmental sources believe that the number of coronavirus victims in Iran is at least two to three times higher than the official figures.
Meanwhile, Alireza Zali, head of Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, described “false negative tests” as “a very dangerous phenomenon” in the spread of epidemics.
He emphasized the quality of diagnostic tests for confirming coronavirus in identifying patients.
Currently, according to the Ministry of Health announcement, 9 cities are in red alert status, 39 cities in orange alert, 228 cities in yellow alert, and 172 cities in blue alert status.
The red alert cities are: Abadan, Ahvaz, Bandar Mahshahr, Dezful, Deshte Azadegan, Shadegan, Shushtar, Karun, and Hoveizeh.
The color-coding of cities regarding coronavirus is announced under circumstances where experts believe that changes in this color-coding are themselves factors contributing to the underestimation of coronavirus in Iran and the increase in travel and social gatherings.
Source: Radio Farda
