Status: 08.08.2021 6:51 p.m.
Never since the beginning of the pandemic has the number of new infections and corona deaths in Iran been so high. The delta variant brings hospitals to their capacity limits. The vaccination campaign is making slow progress.
Iran records new highs in the corona pandemic. The Ministry of Health in Tehran reported 542 deaths and nearly 40,000 new infections within 24 hours. The number of deaths was higher than at the peak last November. With a total of 4.1 million detected infections and 94,000 corona deaths, Iran is the country with the highest values in the Middle East. However, it is assumed that the number of unreported cases is even higher.
The cause of the rapid increase in new infections is the delta variant of the virus. This also pushed hospitals and nursing staff to their limits. In many cities, the intensive care units and emergency rooms are overcrowded with new corona patients, and there have never been so many in critical condition. A further 6,462 serious cases were reported on Sunday alone.
Government refuses to lockdown
The Ministry of Health last week called for a two-week lockdown, and Religious Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state affairs, also advised officials to discuss the possibility of a full lockdown in the country. The government has so far been reluctant to implement such a measure, fearing the damage to the economy that has been suffering from years of American sanctions.
Iran’s vaccination campaign, which has been slow, has not brought any relief either. Only 3.3 percent of the total population of around 80 million people are fully vaccinated. This is evident from government sources compiled by the Oxford University’s Our World in Data project.
Just under three percent of the population vaccinated
Iran relies on a vaccine from domestic development, COVIran Barekat. The new president of the country, Ebrahim Raisi, was vaccinated with it on Sunday. He received a first dose of the vaccine and urged health officials to speed up vaccinations before the winter weather set in, state media reported.
Iran is particularly hard hit by the corona pandemic, also because US sanctions have exacerbated the economic crisis and made the import of vaccines much more difficult.