Official Corona Statistics in Iran; 160 More Deaths, Mask Exports Banned
The Health Ministry spokesperson announced on Monday, July 7th, that with 160 coronavirus patient deaths over the past 24 hours, the total number of coronavirus victims in Iran according to official statistics reached 11,731 people.
Sima Sadat Lari also reported the identification of 2,613 new patients during this period.
With the inclusion of the new figures, the total number of coronavirus cases in Iran has reached 243,051 people.
The official statistics presented by Health Ministry officials had previously been questioned by some members of parliament and members of Tehran’s city council.
Ms. Sadat Lari also stated that 3,201 coronavirus patients are in severe condition and are under special care.
She declared the status of coronavirus spread in 9 provinces including Khuzestan, Hormozgan, Bushehr, Kermanshah, Kurdistan, Ilam, West and East Azerbaijan, and Razavi Khorasan as “red” and said: Golestan, Alborz, Kerman, Yazd, Hamadan, and Sistan and Baluchestan provinces are also in alert status.
Reintroduction of Some Restrictions
Meanwhile, Saeed Khal, CEO of Zahra Health Organization, while warning about the concerning coronavirus situation, said: “Even the figures we have witnessed in the past 75 days are unprecedented, and if not observed, Tehran will return to difficult conditions.”
According to Tasnim News Agency, he said without providing specific figures about the death toll in Tehran: “The figures that exist in Tehran are not comparable to the entire country.”
With the increase in the number of coronavirus patients in Tehran, some restrictions are being reinstated.
Mohsen Farhadi, Deputy Minister of Health of Iran, while announcing that there has been “no change” in the coronavirus situation in Tehran, said: “With this rate of disease growth, it is predicted that some restrictions will return again.”
In this regard, the General Administration of Public Libraries of Tehran Province announced that with the notification of the National Coronavirus Combat Headquarters, library services to Tehran citizens are closed from July 7th to 10th.
In Mashhad city, reports also indicate an increase in patient numbers and the city turning red.
Ali Khorsand, head of the Research and Treatment Center of Imam Reza, said the number of hospitalized patients, especially critically ill patients in Mashhad, is increasing.
He attributed this situation to decreased public attention to health recommendations. In recent days, Health Ministry officials announced that public sensitivity to coronavirus has decreased from 90 percent to 20 percent.
Mask Exports Banned
Simultaneously with the implementation of the mandatory mask policy in Iran, the Ministry of Industry announced that the export of all types of masks out of the country is currently prohibited.
According to ISNA News Agency, Jamshid Golpur, secretary of the coronavirus response working group at the Ministry of Industry, said that to support mask production, “raw materials and fabrics” have been made available to manufacturers to maintain production in line with the country’s current conditions.
Despite these statements, Hassan Ghazi-Askar, Deputy Governor of Isfahan, said that due to the lack of raw materials, some three-layer mask production factories in this province have been shut down.
He added that two factories in Yazd and Malayer that produce the middle layer of three-layer masks have announced that they will not send these layers to other provinces.
Meanwhile, despite government officials’ emphasis on distributing masks at approved prices, multiple reports have been published about increases in mask prices.
Based on reports from Iranian media outlets in recent days, mask prices have increased by 30 percent.
Source: Radio Farda
