Iran said the number of patients confirmed to have contracted a variant of the coronavirus originating in the UK has risen to 17. According to the Iranian Health Ministry’s Public Relations Director, Kianoush Jahanpour, at least seven of those cases were identified in Qazvin province, 150 kilometers west of the capital Tehran.
Elsewhere, Health Minister Saeed Namaki sounded louder alarm on those new cases, saying he believes that the real number of the cases caused by the new mutation is greater than what has been established. He warned that several other provinces might have already been infected with “this stubborn” and “potent” version of COVID-19.
After the British government publicly identified the new strain back in December, Iran was prompt to place a strict ban on all flights to and from the United Kingdom. Still, the measures did not stop the entry of the variant as Iran officially reported its first case Jan. 5 and has blamed at least three deaths on the UK strain.
On another front, the Islamic Republic is also facing what officials have described as a “fourth wave”, or a new peak of the pandemic nationwide. “We will have to brace for a harsh March if we lower the guard,” warned the health minister, adding that “the gains on the pandemic could be fragile”. Namaki was referring to a “worrisome spike” in infections recorded in the southern provinces of Khuzestan, Bushehr and Fars.
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