Iranians traditionally celebrate Yalda, the night of the winter solstice and the longest night in the year in the northern hemisphere, by getting together with family and close friends. This year the holiday falls on December 30. “Our biggest worry is the family get-togethers for the ceremonies of Yalda,” Ali Rabiei, the government’s spokesman, said. “We hope that families will help to cut the coronavirus transmission chain by observing health protocols and by not participating in family gatherings.”
Because of the fall in the number of coronavirus infections and fatalities, the alert level in some Iranian cities has been downgraded to orange or yellow, meaning that some businesses have been allowed to reopen in addition to those offering essential goods and services. In big cities like Tehran, however, this has led to a sharp increase in traffic and crowded public transportation, which could lead to another surge in infections. In the meantime, the purchase and the development of coronavirus vaccine is still the most talked-about story in the news.
Tehran City Council Calls for Extension of Restrictions
Calling for the extension of coronavirus restrictions in Tehran, Ebrahim Amini, vice president of Tehran City Council, said that “the reopening of places that were closed and employees’ return to their various workplaces have resulted in an increase in Tehran’s traffic and in the use of public transportation.”
At the same time, Tehran’s police commander reported that Tehran’s traffic has been heavy between 6pm and 10pm and warned that people who break the traffic curfew between 9pm and 4am will be identified through surveillance cameras and will face fines.
Rabiei advised anybody that has been closer than two meters to an individual who has tested positive for coronavirus to go into quarantine so that the transmission chain will be broken sooner. At the moment, he said, authorities are tracing people who have tested positive for coronavirus and 4,600 individuals have been prevented from boarding planes, trains and buses.
According to him, more than 85 percent of the public are complying with health protocols. He said the traffic curfew from 9pm to 4pm had been effective and the curfew must continue in cities in a red or orange state of alert.
Vaccine Update
Kianoush Jahanpour, the head of the health ministry’s public relations and the spokesman for Iran’s Food and Drug Administration, announced that negotiations for the pre-purchase of around 21 million doses of coronavirus vaccines from four vaccine-producing countries are in progress. He said that Iran’s Food and Drug Administration is paying special attention to the evaluation and approval of reputable international health organizations.
According to Jahanpour, Iran has already signed an agreement with the World Health Organization to pre-purchase 16.8 million doses of coronavirus through COVAX (Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator), a global initiative aimed at working with vaccine manufacturers to provide countries worldwide equitable access to safe and effective vaccines.
However, he warned that “sanctions have cast a shadow over all vaccine purchases and banking transactions. [But] the government and the health ministry are doing their best to import early in 2021 the first shipment of the 42 million doses that we plan to buy from other countries.”
In recent days there have been numerous reports from different sources about an Iranian-manufactured coronavirus vaccine. According to Dr. Majid Shirani, president of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari University of Medical Sciences, there is a good chance that this vaccine will be ready for distribution in the next four to six months. He said the vaccine will enter the phase of human testing soon and, if the results are satisfactory, it will be mass-produced.
Provinces Round-up
In the 24-hour period spanning December 7 and December 8, in Alborz province 18 people with Covid-19 died, bringing the death toll for the province to 2,409, reported Dr. Mohammad Fathi, president of Alborz University of Medical Sciences. In the same 24 hours 83 new patients with coronavirus symptoms were hospitalized in Alborz and currently 667 suspected and confirmed cases are being treated in hospitals across the province.
After two weeks of extensive lockdowns the situation in Alborz is improving but in recent days the number of fatalities in the province has risen again.
In Kermanshah province in the past 24 hours, 10 more Covid-19 patients died and the death toll for the province now stands at 1,328. In the same 24 hours, 39 new patients were hospitalized and 40 outpatients tested positive for coronavirus. Currently 490 coronavirus patients are hospitalized across Kermanshah.
Amir Deldari, director of inspections of Mashhad Chamber of Guilds, announced that the city is still in a red state of alert and businesses that could have opened if the state of alert were orange will be locked down for another two weeks. “Fortunately, all malls in Mashhad have complied with restrictions and are locked down and we have no reports that any of the businesses have reopened without permits.”
Ardebil University of Medical Sciences reported that the province is still in a red state of alert and in the past 24 hours 11 more Covid-19 patients have died and 65 new patients have been hospitalized. According to the latest statistics, as of December 8, the death toll in the province stands at 1,130. Currently, 475 coronavirus patients are hospitalized across Ardebil.
Iran’s Latest Coronavirus Statistics
In her daily briefing for December 8, the health ministry spokeswoman Dr. Sima Sadat Lari announced the official coronavirus statistics for the last 24 hours:
Dr. Lari reported that currently 64 cities are in a red state of alert, 278 are in an orange state and 106 are in yellow.
This is part of IranWire's coronavirus chronology. Read the full chronology
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