Coronavirus in Iran; 5 provinces record deaths, no reduction in traffic

According to a spokesman for the Ministry of Health, the rate of hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 in several Iranian provinces is much higher than the national average. The ministry's deputy for research, who resigned after criticizing the handling of the coronavirus, has faced accusations.

The Ministry of Health spokesperson announced on Sunday, December 2, that 13,053 patients with COVID-19 were identified in Iran in the past 24 hours, and 475 patients died.

Sima Sadat Lari says that currently, nearly 5,800 coronavirus patients are under care and treatment "in severe condition."

The third wave of the coronavirus outbreak in Iran, which began in late September, is still continuing with intensity. In the past week, no day except Saturday has had the number of new cases less than 13,000. On Saturday, the number of confirmed cases was very close to this figure.

Since the beginning of the third wave of Corona, 27 provinces in Iran have been in red status and four provinces have been in alert status, but the severity of infection and mortality varies in different regions.

Provinces with record deaths and hospitalizations

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Health says that in recent days, the highest number of deaths from coronavirus have been in the five provinces of Yazd, South Khorasan, Ilam, West Azerbaijan, and Semnan.

He added that, except for West Azerbaijan, in four other provinces, the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients was "significantly" higher than the national average.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said: "Victory over Corona requires a campaign based on solidarity between the government and citizens, and today, more than ever, we need to strengthen national resolve to fight the disease."

Apparently, the solidarity between the government and citizens is not very strong, and the people's distrust of government officials is cited as one of the main reasons for this.

Distrust in the government and the lack of reduction in traffic

Inefficiency, lack of transparency, secrecy, contradictory statements, unprofessional decision-making, and interference by power centers in policies related to combating the spread of the coronavirus pandemic are among the criticisms that are frequently repeated in cyberspace and the media.

In some cases, citizens' disregard for health guidelines can be a reflection of this distrust on the one hand and a consequence of the failure of government institutions to provide the necessary infrastructure on the other. Part of the congestion on public transportation is the result of the severe shortage of subway and bus cars, which the mayor and the head of the Tehran City Council have repeatedly complained about.

According to ISNA news agency, the head of the headquarters for combating the coronavirus in the Tehran metropolis says that the severe restrictions announced since December 1 have not led to a decrease in traffic so far.

Alireza Zali, at the same time, says that it is still too early to judge, and if the restrictions are "successful, effective, and efficient," their impact on mortality will be determined between one month and 40 days, and in terms of reducing the course of the disease, at least in three weeks.

He noted that the only case in which the effectiveness of the restrictions may be seen sooner is in outpatient visits to medical centers, which will be determined in 14 to 15 days, after the incubation period of COVID-19 has passed.

File building for the critical and resigned deputy

Criticism of the government's policies in dealing with the coronavirus outbreak is not limited to a segment of citizens and some experts. Three days ago, Reza Malekzadeh, then-Deputy Minister of Research and Technology at the Ministry of Health, resigned from his position, strongly criticizing the "extremely misguided and flawed management of the coronavirus pandemic."

In a letter to Health Minister Saeed Namaki, referring to his recent remarks that Iranian experts would soon be working on producing a coronavirus vaccine, Malekzadeh cited one of the reasons for his resignation as "Your Excellency's unscientific and hasty statements about the production of an Iranian coronavirus vaccine, which is still in its early stages and you have claimed to be working on producing it."

With Malekzadeh's resignation, he was subjected to severe attacks by fundamentalists, to the point that the Mashreq website accused the resigned Deputy Health Minister of giving classified information to foreigners. Some financial charges have also been leveled against Malekzadeh.

A number of student mobilization organizations at medical universities also expressed doubts in a statement that the deputy minister's resignation "is not an excuse to shirk responsibility and not be accountable for actions and omissions during the period of responsibility."

Basiji students have asked Malekzadeh to explain accusations such as "establishing a pharmaceutical company and serving as chairman of its board of directors, while simultaneously serving as deputy minister, and prescribing some ineffective drugs to treat coronavirus."

The Minister of Health has repeatedly claimed that Iran has achieved great successes in the fight against Corona and that the biggest reason for this was the “unparalleled support of the Supreme Leader.” With such statements, the support of fundamentalists for Saeed Namaki has greatly intensified.

Accordingly, some observers do not consider the attacks by fundamentalists on the former deputy health minister to be unrelated to political issues. Reza Malekzadeh is a senior member of the Kargazaran Party, and Hossein Marashi, the party's spokesman, recently introduced him as one of the possible candidates for the 2021 presidential election.

Source: DW