President of Semnan University of Medical Sciences: 30% of the province's population has contracted COVID-19
The president of Semnan University of Medical Sciences says that according to statistics, 30 percent of the people in this province have been infected with the new coronavirus.
Considering the population of Semnan province in the 2016 census, the announced percentage includes at least 210,000 citizens of this province, which is more than the total number of confirmed cases by the Iranian government throughout the country.
Dr. Navid Danaei, president of Semnan University of Medical Sciences, said in an interview with ISNA news agency published on the morning of July 21 that since the beginning of the pandemic in Iran, more than 1,700 people infected with or showing symptoms of the virus have been hospitalized in this province; although the number of those who tested positive is stated to be 607.
It is not clear from Dr. Danaei's statements whether all confirmed and symptomatic hospitalized patients were tested or only some of them were tested.
Navid Danaei said that "three thousand tests" have been conducted in Semnan university hospitals since the announcement of the coronavirus outbreak.
The president of Semnan University of Medical Sciences also says, "According to statistics, 30 percent of the people in this province have been infected with the coronavirus so far, and another 70 percent are at risk of contracting the virus."
Mr. Danaei did not provide details on how the census was conducted, although he stated that two stages of screening have been conducted and completed in this province.
Based on the 2016 census, more than 702,000 people live in Semnan Province, of which at least 210,000 have been infected with COVID-19, based on the statistics provided on Sunday.
According to Sima Sadat Lari, spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Health, on June 19, the total number of patients in the country was announced to be more than 202,000. Semnan Province is the 30th province in Iran in terms of population index.
On Friday, Ms. Lari declared the provinces of Khuzestan, Hormozgan, Kurdistan, Bushehr, and West Azerbaijan as “red”; Khuzestan is Iran’s fifth most populous province, and the rest of the provinces have populations far larger than Semnan. Many other Iranian provinces have also faced crises caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in recent months.
Iranian authorities do not provide specific, disaggregated details of the number of infected people. At the same time, no independent report has yet been published on the quality and manner of testing in the country.
From the statements of the president of Semnan University of Medical Sciences, it seems that there is a significant difference between the number of tests and the number of people hospitalized in university hospitals, on the one hand, and the "statistics" of those infected, on the other.
Source: Radio Farda
