The President of the Iranian regime announced that religious centers in 127 regions deemed as “white” in terms of the COVID-19 epidemic would be reopened next week.
“In the 127 regions specified by the Ministry of Health… mosques, religious centers and places where Friday Prayers are held will be reopened in accordance with specific protocols,” Hassan Rouhani said yesterday.
Today, the regime’s Ministry of Health said that 116 cities were “white” while 60, including all the capitals of Iran’s provinces, were “red”.
According to Rouhani, the Health Ministry defines a “white” region as an area with two weeks of zero coronavirus patients seeking medical care, zero deaths, and an increase in recovery rates.
However, according to a detailed April 26 report by the Coronavirus Headquarter’s Epidemiology Committee, none of Iran’s provinces seem to meet any of these conditions.
According to the head of the Parliament’s Health Committee, the country has yet to put behind the peak of the COVID-19 epidemic.
“We have still not put behind the peak of the illness and the decision by the National Coronavirus Headquarters (to resume economic activities) does not mean that we have passed the peak,” Ali Nobakht said yesterday.
The state-run Resalat Daily said that coronavirus figures showed that the number of those infected with the virus in hospitals has increased.
“There is concern that the number of victims will increase with the decline in social distancing,” the daily wrote yesterday adding that the resumption of low-risk businesses had increased concerns about the possible return of a second wave of the disease.
In an editorial in the state-run Setareyeh Sobh Daily, a coronavirus official criticized the regime for not implementing quarantines at the beginning of the epidemic due to “political reasons”.
“Given the lack of quarantine and necessary social limitations, the Iranian government is lagging behind many countries,” Mohammadreza Mahboubfar wrote.
The member of the Coronavirus Prevention and Control Committee also questioned official coronavirus figures.
“The figures are not compatible with reality and the (real) number of infections and fatalities are higher,” he wrote adding that the cause of death in death certificates is altered to keep the number of fatalities down.
The Ministry of Health said today that the total number of deaths from the coronavirus were 5,806.
But an opposition group that announces daily coronavirus fatalities in the country said that the actual numbers were much higher.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran said today that at least 36,200 Iranians had died from the virus in 301 cities across the country.
Source » irannewswire