Iran hits highest coronavirus death toll since July
Officials in Iran are scrambling to address the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Infections have hit a daily high as Iran undergoes a third wave of the coronavirus.
According to the Health Ministry, there have been 3,902 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. In the same 24 hours, there were 235 deaths, equaling the highest number of daily deaths since July. Iran now has over 475,000 total confirmed coronavirus cases and over 27,000 deaths. According to officials, these are just the confirmed numbers — the likely numbers are higher.
One of the hardest-hit provinces is Tehran, which had to go on a province-wide shutdown. According to officials from the Tehran Headquarters to Combat Coronavirus, they have been considering shutting down traffic out of Tehran. One of the many problems with the shutdowns is that residents from Tehran have used the occasion to travel north, which is a popular vacation location. Numerous officials in Tehran have made public statements urging Tehran residents not to travel north. Given the high rate of infections in Tehran, traveling to other provinces only causes the virus to spread across multiple provinces.
An official with the Tehran Headquarters also said that every hospital in Tehran is dealing directly or indirectly with the coronavirus. He said they have even set up specialized COVID hospitals to deal with patients who have been infected.
