Iran: ‘We have lost control of containing the Covid-19 dragon.’
















Iran is experiencing an increase in coronavirus infections and deaths.Credit...Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Iran’s coronavirus infection and death rates reached what amounts to a fourth wave, health officials said Monday, a few weeks after many Iranians ignored warnings against traveling and congregating for the Nowruz new year holiday.
Tehran and several other big cities were declared red zones — the worst level in the color-coded system of risk devised by the health authorities to deal with managing the scourge.
“Today we have lost control of containing the Covid-19 dragon,” said the health minister, Saeed Namaki. “It remains unclear when we will be able to lower three-digit death rates. It is an extremely difficult situation.”

The health ministry said 172 people had died and 13,890 had tested positive for the virus in the past day. The numbers are the highest in four months. The head of Tehran’s biggest cemetery said the number of dead from the virus in the capital had tripled in just a few days.
Besides Tehran, 96 other cities and towns — constituting nearly half the country — were placed in high-risk categories of red and orange zones. Officials announced new restrictions for red cities that include closures of schools and educational establishments; reduced number of people going to work; a ban on travel to and from the cities; and a cap of 15 persons at gatherings.
The recent surge in numbers follows Iran’s Nowruz celebrations in mid-March, when Iranians packed shopping areas and restaurants, held large house parties and traveled across the country. The authorities warned the public to take safety measures for the holidays but did little to enforce it.

Health officials have said that the dominant virus in Iran is now the British variant that first entered Iran from its southwestern borders with Iraq. The southwestern provinces in Iran were the first to face a new surge and were placed under lockdown but now the variant has spread across the country.

Iran has been especially hit by the pandemic, with some of the highest infection and death rates. Vaccination has been slow, entangled in politics and disinformation. Less than one percent of the population of 80 million, mostly medical workers, have been vaccinated.
— Farnaz Fassihi