Official death toll from coronavirus reaches 16,000; Hassan Rouhani’s government spokesman contracts COVID-19

Masih Mohajeri, the editor-in-chief of the Jomhuri-ye Eslami newspaper, also criticized Rouhani’s statements in the newspaper’s editorial on the 5th of Mordad, saying that it is “not possible to observe health protocols in mourning ceremonies.”

He asked the President to “as the commander-in-chief of the coronavirus response headquarters… drop formalities” and issue orders to create “necessary restrictions, especially regarding gatherings.”

Official death toll from coronavirus reaches approximately 16,000

Meanwhile, Iran’s Health Ministry spokesman said that 212 people died from coronavirus in the past 24 hours.

Accordingly, based on official statistics, the number of coronavirus patients in the country has reached 15,912.

Sima Sadat Lari, who announced coronavirus statistics in Iran on Monday, said that 2,434 new patients were identified during this period, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 293,606.

She also said that 25 provinces are in red or warning status regarding coronavirus spread.

Health Ministry officials’ statistics on coronavirus in Iran have always faced serious doubts.

Previously, the Parliamentary Research Center estimated the death toll to be at least twice the official figures.

In the latest example, Nahid Khodakaram, a member of Tehran City Council, reported that 234 people died and were buried in Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in Tehran over the past two days.

These statistics were presented while yesterday Iraj Harirchi, the Deputy Minister of Health announced that 600 new coronavirus patients are hospitalized daily in Tehran, saying: “Between 5 to 10 percent of hospitalized patients lose their lives.”

Based on the Deputy Health Minister’s statements, 30 to 60 people die daily in Tehran, but today’s statements by the Tehran City Council member suggest that over the past two days, more than 110 people have died each day in Tehran.