Skip to main content

Iran registers 'alarming' rise in infections as people 'trivialize' rules

A majority of the country's provinces are reporting an "alarming" number of new cases, according to Iran's Health Ministry.

Iranians, some wearing protective masks, wait to cross a street in the capital Tehran on February 22, 2020. - Iran today reported one more death among 10 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of deaths in the Islamic republic to five and infections to 28. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)
Iranians, some wearing protective masks, wait to cross a street in the capital Tehran on Feb. 22, 2020. — ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran is seeing an "alarming" surge in cases, the country’s Health Ministry said Sunday, as it reported its highest one-day tally in more than three weeks. 

After registering 2,685 new cases in 24 hours on Sunday — Iran’s worst infection count since July 8 — health officials reported a slightly lower number on Monday. Health Ministry spokesperson Sima Sadat Lari said Iran registered 2,598 new infections and 215 new deaths. 

“Sadly, since late June, daily infections have been on a rising trajectory” in Qom in central Iran, Lari said. “We are concerned that trivializing the situation and lax observance of health protocols may lead to a worsening of the outbreak in the province.” 

Lari said the situation was “alarming” or “red,” the highest classification on the government’s COVID-19 watch list, in 25 out of 31 provinces. She also warned Iranians not to travel to Mazandaran, a popular tourist destination bordering the Caspian Sea where the case count has more than quadrupled in the past six weeks. 

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

Continue reading this exclusive analysis

Original reporting and analysis unavailable elsewhere. Subscribe to AL-MONITOR to read this story and access everything we publish