Corona in Iran; “The situation in Tehran is not favorable at all”

The new wave of the coronavirus outbreak has put almost all regions of Iran on red alert, but the situation in cities like Tehran is worse. The deputy head of the Tehran province's coronavirus response headquarters says restrictions may be imposed on travel from the capital.

Due to the sharp increase in cases of infection, hospitalization, and death related to COVID-19, the National Coronavirus Management Headquarters, after some hesitation, finally agreed to impose restrictions and ban some activities in Tehran Province for a week.

On Monday, October 4, the deputy head of the Tehran Provincial Coronavirus Response Headquarters called the number of COVID-19 deaths in the capital "significant" and warned that if we see travel to the north or other cities this weekend, "the possibility of a new peak in the disease is not unlikely."

Nader Tavakoli told ISNA News Agency that the Coronavirus Response Headquarters is considering imposing restrictions, one of which may be limiting travel to the north, given the current situation.

Mohsen Hashemi, the head of Tehran City Council, says that the closure of Tehran should continue for at least two weeks to be effective in breaking the chain of transmission and spread of the virus.

Tehran is one step away from a tsunami of coronavirus victims

Hashemi warned in a Twitter message that Tehran is one step away from a tsunami of coronavirus deaths and that a week-long closure of some businesses is a conservative and ineffective measure.

The head of the Tehran City Council Health Committee announced yesterday that 136 people with COVID-19 have died in the capital in the past 24 hours.

64% of Iran's deaths in Tehran

For this period, the number of coronavirus victims across Iran was announced at 211. On this basis, slightly more than 64% of coronavirus deaths were related to Tehran.

The deputy head of the coronavirus response headquarters in Tehran told ISNA: "If people do not observe health precautions and the course of the disease and the chain of transmission is not controlled, the number of deaths will definitely increase. The number of coronavirus deaths in Tehran is significant; in recent days, we have experienced record hospitalizations and deaths in the province."

The Ministry of Health stopped releasing separate statistics on cases and deaths in different provinces and cities in the first weeks after the official confirmation of the coronavirus outbreak in Iran. What is reported in the media about the situation in different regions, including the dire situation in Tehran, has been mainly expressed by local officials.

New record daily cases

According to the spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, 3,902 new cases of coronavirus were identified in Iran in the 24 hours ending on October 5, and 235 people infected with COVID-19 have lost their lives. In the past seven and a half months, the number of infected people has never been this high.

Sima Sadat Lari, stating that 26 provinces are in red status and four provinces are in a corona alert status, said that the total number of infected people has reached 475,674 and the number of victims has reached 27,192.

The new wave of the spread of the coronavirus in Iran is much more severe and widespread than the previous two waves. According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, at the peak of the previous two waves, in the months of April and June, the number of infected people exceeded 3,000 for only three consecutive days, but this situation has continued every day since the past 16 days.

Continued unprecedented trend of increasing prices

From October 26 to today, the number of new infections has not been less than 3,500 on any day, and during this period, the record for the highest number of infections has been broken several times.

The epidemic situation in Iran is considered worrying in that the increase in cases and deaths has continued with slight fluctuations since about three weeks ago, and the number of new infections today is nearly three and a half times the number of infections on September 12.

Lari said in a press conference on Saturday that the rate of compliance with health guidelines in Tehran province is 46 percent, lower than the national average, and according to surveys, the use of masks by people in public centers and places is 59 percent and on public transportation is 50 percent.

The Ministry of Health spokesperson says that the number of infections and hospitalizations in Tehran is also higher than the national average, and currently more than 4,600 coronavirus patients are hospitalized in the capital's medical centers.

Possibility of a three to fivefold increase in the number of infected people in Tehran

Alireza Zali, commander of the coronavirus response headquarters in the Tehran metropolitan area, warned on a television program on Friday that if the coronavirus outbreak in Tehran and the "progressive course of the disease" continue in the current form, we should expect a three- to five-fold increase in the number of infected people and a one-and-a-half to three percent mortality rate.

On Monday, the deputy head of the health department emphasized that "the situation in Tehran is not favorable at all," advising citizens not to leave their homes for non-essential activities, and added that the provincial central headquarters is pursuing approval of travel restrictions to the north, which will be implemented if finalized.

Many experts believe that the spike in COVID-19 cases and deaths, which began in the third week of September and continues to this day, is largely due to the ceremonies and gatherings of the month of Muharram and the increase in travel during the holidays of this month.

Warning to citizens: Do not travel

The Hamshahri newspaper wrote in a report on September 10 that statistics on trips to northern Iran show that about four million people have traveled to the three provinces of Golestan, Mazandaran, and Gilan in the past five days. Golestan is on alert and the other two provinces are on red alert due to the spread of the coronavirus.

Payam Tabarsi, head of the infectious disease department at Masih Daneshvari Hospital, called the epidemic situation in Iran critical on October 4 and told ISNA that the spread of the coronavirus, especially in Tehran, was predictable weeks ago and "after the easing of restrictions and risky behaviors."

Emphasizing the direct impact of travel on the increase in the number of coronavirus cases, and considering the upcoming holidays, he advised citizens to avoid unnecessary travel. He added: "If people continue to attend events and travel as they have done in recent weeks, the number of infected people will increase."

Source: Dw