Rumors of Coronavirus Variant Spreading in Iran

Reports have continued to come in from cities across Iran regarding infection rates of the new and more contagious coronavirus variant first detected in the United Kingdom. But health officials say these reports are unreliable because only Tehran’s Pasteur Institute has the capability to confirm whether an infection is caused by the original virus or the variant – and that other cities must send samples to the Pasteur Institute for testing.

Emergency restrictions have meanwhile been announced in the cities of the hard-hit province of Khuzestan. The government has yet to agree to a two-week lockdown of the province even though the provincial governor says that a total quarantine is “likely.”

Infections Rise among the Very Young and the Very Old

According to official figures, the number of fatalities from the coronavirus variant in Tehran has reached three.

Age groups under 10 and over 70 have been categorized as “high-risk groups,” announced Dr. Alireza Zali, director of Tehran Coronavirus Taskforce. This time last year, he said, less than one percent of children under 10 were infected. Now the figures is 11 percent. The rate of infections among the over-80 age group, meanwhile, was 7.4 percent a year ago; now it has gone up to 12 percent. The rate of infections in the 40-70 has fallen to 18 percent.

In Tehran province, in the past 24 hours, 280 new Covid-19 patients were hospitalized in common wards and 92 were hospitalized in ICUs, reported Dr. Zali. During the same time period, 345 Covid-19 patients were discharged from hospitals.

Proposal for More Restrictions in Tehran

Infections among people under 20 years of age has increased in the past month from 5.2 percent to 9.1 percent, reported Anooshirvan Mohseni Bandpey, Governor of Tehran province. He said a proposal for more restrictions such as banning flights from European countries and heavier fines for violating health guidelines and restrictions had been sent to the National Coronavirus Taskforce. He also announced that all gatherings to celebrate the Iranian new year on March 21 are banned.

Bandpey had earlier issued similar warnings against gatherings during religious holidays known as Fatimiyya and marches to celebrate the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution on February 10 although the warnings had been mostly ignored.

Vaccines for the Disabled

Mohammad Nafariyeh, vice president of the National Welfare Organization, announced that disabled Iranians are among the groups that have priority for vaccinations and promised that 20,000 doses will be allocated for the vaccination of the disabled living in care facilities. Nafariyeh added that medical staff and health workers have the first priority for vaccinations; after them, the disabled, the elderly and veterans who had been injured during the Iran-Iraq War.

The vaccination of 10,000 disabled people will start before the spring, Nafariyeh said. “Other groups covered by the Welfare Organization include the elderly and the disabled who live at home,” he said. “They have second priority and their vaccinations will begin after the inoculation of the disabled who live  in care homes.”

A Second Pregnant Nurse Dies

Faranak Davoudi, a nurse in Alborz province who was seven months pregnant, has died from Covid-19. Davoudi’s baby was saved by caesarean section after she had become ill. Earlier, on February 14, another pregnant nurse had died from Covid-19 though her baby was also saved by caesarean section.

According to official figures, so far eight members of the medical staff in Alborz have lost their lives to Covid-19.

Damage worth $5.2 billion to Iran’s Tourism Industry

The tourism industry in Iran has suffered $5.2 billion in losses since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, said Tourism Minister Ali Asghar Mounesan. “We hope that widespread vaccinations will bring prosperity to all branches of tourism, such as agro-tourism, ecotourism, and nature tourism,” he said. “Over 1.5 million jobs have been lost in the tourism sector of Iran due to Covid-19,” he had previously reported, in December of last year. “Many of the people engaged in tourism industry are now unemployed or are staying at home”.

Iran’s Latest Coronavirus Statistics

In her daily briefing for February 23, Health Ministry spokeswoman Dr. Sima Sadat Lari announced the official coronavirus statistics for the past 24 hours:

Provinces Round-up

According to the latest figures announced by Health Ministry spokeswoman, Dr. Sima Sadat Lari, 11 Iranian cities are currently in a red state of alert, while 52 cities are in an orange state of alert, 217 cities are on yellow alert and 168 are rated blue. All cities in a state of red alert are in the province of Khuzestan.

The situation in Khuzestan is still critical; and even though Ghasem Soleimani Dashtaki, the provincial governor, has announced that a two-week lockdown to prevent further spread of the virus is likely, central authorities have yet to agree to it.

Hospital chiefs in the provincial capital of Ahvaz and other health officials have been calling for an “emergency” total quarantine of Khuzestan. Government offices are currently employing only a third of their workforces. Office managers have been told that pregnant women and employees with underlying health conditions should be either given a leave of absence or be allowed to work remotely. In the cities on red alert only essential businesses and services are allowed to remain open.

Travel between cities on red alert in the province is not allowed and the military has been called to help enforce this ban. According to Colonel Reza Dowlatshahi, commander of Khuzestan Highway Police, from February 23, vehicles with non-local license plates cannot enter cities on red or orange alert and those with Khuzestan license plates cannot leave the province. Violators will be fined and these restrictions are to continue until at least March 5.

With one more death from Covid-19, the death toll in Kermanshah since the coronavirus outbreak has reached 1,479, announced Mehdi Mohammadi, spokesman for Kermanshah Coronavirus Taskforce. Mohammadi also said that in the past 24 hours, 42 new Covid-19 patients were hospitalized in the province. The number of hospitalized Covid019 patients in Kermanshah now stands at 152 of whom 43 are in ICUs. As of now, 43,384 in the province have been infected with coronavirus.

In Mazandaran 140 new Covid-19 patients were hospitalized, bringing the total number of inpatients in hospitals operated by Mazandaran and Babol universities of medical sciences to 775.

In Alborz, with the death of one more confirmed Covid-19 patient, the official death toll in the province reached 2,730. In the past 24 hours, 32 new patients were hospitalized and the number of hospitalized patients in the province is currently 292.