According to official statistics, the number of coronavirus victims in Iran has reached 3,452; concerns about returning to work and crowded places and streets
According to official statistics, the number of people infected with the coronavirus in Iran reached 55,743 on Saturday, April 6. The Iranian Ministry of Health also announced the death toll at 3,452.
According to Kianoush Jahanpour, head of the Public Relations and Information Center of the Ministry of Health, 2,560 new patients with COVID-19 were identified in Iran over the past 24 hours, and 158 patients with the disease in the country have died.
Simultaneously with the announcement of these statistics, a large number of businesses and trades have returned to work in Iran today, and images of crowded streets and public places have fueled concerns about the further spread of the coronavirus.
This is despite the fact that a World Health Organization official had previously said that the figures announced by Iranian authorities regarding coronavirus cases were only one-fifth of the actual number of infected people.
It has also been said that the Islamic Republic's authorities contributed to the increase in these figures by making wrong decisions from the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak. Iranian authorities initially opposed closing religious sites in Qom and Mashhad, and in late March, they rejected calls to quarantine cities and ban travel.
Meanwhile, there are reports of continued cover-up and underreporting of the actual number of deaths in Iran. A member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly in Mashhad said on Friday that in Khorasan Razavi province, hundreds of deaths were attributed to acute respiratory disease, and only a small number were declared to have died from coronavirus.
In addition, the Islamic Republic, which had previously called for international assistance to combat the coronavirus, expelled members of the international organization "Doctors Without Borders" and also rejected the US offer to help resolve the coronavirus crisis in Iran.
Previously, on Monday, April 25, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a statement titled "Khamenei's lies about the Wuhan virus are endangering people's lives," made statements about the Iranian regime's lies and cover-ups regarding the coronavirus.
“The lies of [Islamic Republic] Leader Khamenei about the Wuhan virus are dangerous and put Iranians and people around the world at greater risk. Facts matter,” Mr. Pompeo’s statement said.
The United States has repeatedly condemned mismanagement, institutionalized financial corruption, and the plundering of Iranian assets by the regime's affiliates, calling them among the main causes of Iran's problems and the poor welfare of its people. Not long ago, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted about the Islamic Republic's officials that they were involved in corruption instead of helping the people.
Source: Voice of America
