Iran: Coronavirus claims the lives of more than 44,300 people

44,300 people have died in Iran

The main opposition to the Iranian regime – the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran) – has reported that more than 44,300 people in Iran have died after contracting Coronavirus. The number is still increasing by the hundreds with every day that passes and the outbreak has now reached 320 cities across the county in every single one of Iran’s 31 provinces.

While the opposition reports that more than 44,300 people have died, the Iranian regime is reporting the official death toll to be 7,359. Just a fraction of the true number. The opposition has been in contact with health workers across the country since the very beginning of the outbreak, anticipating that the regime would fail to properly and accurately inform the public.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has stated that ten provinces are free from the virus and are able to return to normal, but at the same time the Ministry of Health is reporting that there are no white zones anywhere in the country. The contradictions are not fooling the people of Iran who know that the situation across the country remains critical.

President Rouhani has tried to convince the people that certain people are trying to spread fear about the virus, declaring that they should not accept it. He said that at the end of the month, all government employees would be returning to work and those that have been working with restrictions would see them lifted. He also said that the country’s religious sites would be reopening the day after Eid al-Fitr.

Officials and governors across the country, however, are speaking out about the reality of the situation in different areas. For example, the president of Bushehr Medical Sciences University said that 7,000 people in the province have been sent to the hospital since the beginning of the outbreak because of acute respiratory illness. He said that the testing that is being carried out indicates, very strongly, that the trend of illness is increasing.

The governor of the province of Lorestan also said that there is an increase in the number of cases detected in the area, adding that several counties are of a particular cause for concern.

Saeid Namaki, the regime’s Health Minister, said that warnings have been issued about the spread of the virus in a number of provinces, in particular in Khuzestan. He said that the neighboring provinces have been put on alert.

Not only is the regime’s failure to contain the outbreak a worry for the people of Iran, but it is also concerning for Iran’s neighbors. Iran could potentially be to blame for an outbreak across the borders, especially in the part of Iraq that borders the province of Khuzestan that has been put on red alert.

The impact of the spread of Coronavirus across the country is not just health-related. It is having a major impact on the economy and social and political implications have been noted. The regime must act now. It cannot sit on its hands any longer.