After approximately a month of relatively lower COVID-19 numbers in Iran, it appears that the virus is back on the rise for a sixth wave, despite the fact that the fifth wave never fully ended.

In the last 24 hours there have been over 11,000 new confirmed cases, with nearly 2,000 hospitalizations. In the same time period, there have been 162 confirmed deaths from COVID-19, bringing the official death toll to over 124,000, though officials have said the real numbers could be twice as high. During the peak of the fifth wave, daily deaths were well over 500 consistently and in previous lows the daily death toll was double digits. 

According to an article in Tasnim News agency, the relative low drop in deaths and the rise in case numbers in provinces such as Alborz, Kurdistan, Mazandaran, Fars and Yazd mean that Iran needs to prepare for a sixth wave. 

Iran’s health minister, Bahram Eynollahi, said last week that the country needs to reach 80% vaccination rates. He said that currently 35% of Iranians are fully vaccinated and 75% of individuals have at least one shot. Eynollahi did not specify what group he was referring to, but likely they are the percentages of adults over a certain age.