Fears of a Fourth Covid-19 Wave Approaching Iran

Iranwire – According to the National Coronavirus Taskforce, 10 cities in the northern province of Mazandaran are in a red state of alert, signifying mounting infections in the province. The taskforce also said that travel to the south of Iran, especially to Qeshm island in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as to the scenic northern provinces, had resulted in ongoing violations of health protocols and that Iran may soon be hit with a fourth wave of infections.

More than 30,000 travelers have visited Qeshm island in recent weeks – though the exact dates of these visits are not clear. Health Minister Saeed Namaki asked Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli and the National Coronavirus Taskforce to, once again, take steps to contain upcoming religious ceremonies and to prevent travel around the country.

“Symbolic” Rallies for the Anniversary of the Islamic Revolution

Rallies later this year, to mark the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution on February 10, will be held in a “symbolic” manner, the spokesman for the National Coronavirus Taskforce Alireza Raeesi said. “In most cities these ceremonies [processions] will be held by individuals on motorcycles and other vehicles. Nobody will take part in the ceremonies on foot, neither as spectators nor as participants,” Raeesi said. “The president’s speech will be broadcast on radio and TV as well.” He warned that a new wave of coronavirus infections would lead to the deaths of between 8,000 and 10,000 more people.

Raeesi also emphasized that the reopening of schools is not mandatory. “In areas in a yellow or blue state of alert, families have the choice of sending students to school or not,” he said. “Classes must be less than 10 students and schools must have no more than 50 pupils in total.” The question of teachers and other staff physically attending schools is decided by the education department of each region, he added.

No Religious Ceremonies Allowed in Tehran

Anooshirvan Mohseni Bandpey, the governor of Tehran province, announced that, since the National Coronavirus Taskforce has banned all gatherings in the province, religious ceremonies during Fatimiyya are banned as well. Fatimiyya is the occasion, over a series of days, when Muslims and especially Shia Muslims mourn the martyrdom of Fatimiyya al-Zahra, the youngest daughter of Prophet Mohammad, in 632 AD.

Third Iranian Vaccine Enters Clinical Trial

The first rounds of vaccination in Iran will take place this winter, President Hassan Rouhani said, expressing the hope that medical staff will be vaccinated before the end of the current Iranian calendar year on March 20. According to Rouhani, vaccines procured from COVAX – a World Health Organization initiative to provide countries around the world with a more equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines – will also be delivered on March 20 or soon afterwards.

Rouhani also said that Iran had purchased other vaccines from foreign firms.

Earlier, after the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, banned imports of American and British vaccines, it was announced that the Islamic Republic planned to buy vaccines from China, Russia or India. And the vaccine that is being jointly developed with Cuba, Rouhani said, “is near completion and we will have it by spring.” He called this vaccine “Pasteur,” most likely because Iran’s Pasteur Institute is overseeing the third phase of its clinical human trials.

Rouhani also reported that two other Iranian vaccines have received permits for clinical trials and that “they would become available to people next summer.”

Kianoush Jahanpour, spokesman for Iran’s Food and Drug Administration, said that the clinical trial of the third domestically-developed Covid-19 vaccine had been launched at Razi Serum and Vaccine Institute. “The first and second phase clinical trials of the third Iran-made coronavirus vaccine … have started with the approval of the Medical Ethics Committee,” Jahanpour tweeted on January 16.

Provinces Round-up

In Alborz, 20 new patients with coronavirus symptoms were hospitalized in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of hospitalized, suspected or confirmed cases in the province to 295. And, with the death of another five Covid-19 patients, the death toll in Alborz since the epidemic started is now 2,632 people.

Hossein Kalantari, governor of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, warned that compliance with health protocols among certain businesses and people has dropped and “if Boyer-Ahmad returns to an orange state of alert, then will would become very difficult and we will have to again lockdown businesses.” He also complained that the number of coronavirus tests conducted in the province was too low.

In Kurdistan, with the hospitalization of 29 new patients, the total number of Covid-19 hospitalizations in the province reached 119, 60 of them in the provincial capital of Sanandaj. In the past 24 hours no coronavirus fatality was reported in the province. The official death toll in Kurdistan since the coronavirus outbreak remains at 1,045 people.

Iran’s Latest Coronavirus Statistics

In her daily briefing for January 16, health ministry’s spokeswoman Dr. Sima Sadat Lari announced the official coronavirus statistics for the past 24 hours:

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