Regime’s Health Ministry: The number of infected in the past 24 hours is 2,294, the highest in the past month and a half
Death toll only in Mofatteh Hospital in Varamin is 180
The people’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK) announced on Monday, May 18, 2020, that the Coronavirus fatalities in 319 cities across Iran had exceeded 42,600. The number of victims in Tehran is 6,790, Khuzestan 2,915, Alborz 1,630, Hamedan 1,195, Lorestan 1,190, Kurdistan 760, and Kerman 473. The death toll in Mofatteh Hospital in the city of Varamin (central Iran) only is 180.
The spokesperson for the regime’s Health Ministry, today, announced 69 people had died in the past 24 hours, and the number of those infected was 2,294, the highest in the past month and a half. He told the state official news agency, IRNA, “Khuzestan Province continues to have 25% of those infected with the virus… The provinces of Lorestan, North Khorasan, South of Kerman, South of Sistan and Baluchestan, and Kermanshah are in an alarming situation… There is no expectation that this disease would leave the country in the short term.”
According to the Health Ministry, “The total number of Coronavirus infections in Khuzestan has reached about 7,000, while the total number of patients in Khuzestan until two weeks ago was only 2,000,” reported the state-run daily Vatan-e-Emrooz, today.
Arman daily wrote today, “According to official reports, the rising trend of Coronavirus in eight provinces (Lorestan, Central, North Khorasan, Kurdistan, Khuzestan, Gilan, Hormozgan and Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari) are more worrying than ever. East Azerbaijan is close to a crisis over the increase in the number of new cases, and officials have warned that in the coming days, they will have to wait for the second peak of the outbreak in the province. Also, today, Saeid Keshmiri, the president of Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, told Arman daily, “In recent days, the number of Coronavirus patients in the province has been increasing.”
“The level of sensitivity to this vicious virus has decreased, and some people have returned to their normal routines, which has led to a jump in the number of patients,” said Behrouz Nedaei, the deputy governor of Ardabil as reported by the IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency, on May 18.
Tehran Governor, Anoushirvan Mohseni, told Rooz-e No daily today, “We still say that Tehran is the epicenter of the infection. Although there is a possibility of infection in all parts of the country, this province experiences different conditions due to its characteristics and high population density … If on average, 50 people live in every square kilometer, in Tehran, this number reaches 1,000, and in Baharestan county, it reaches 10,000.”
In another development, while ‘Rouhani claimed to have the capability to export masks and equipment abroad, Dr. Massoud Mardani, a member of the National Coronavirus Combat Taskforce (NCCT) told the state-run daily, Salamat news, today, “We still have difficulty in obtaining medicine, protective instruments and ICU beds. We should not move from bad to worse. It seems that we need to move towards more severe quarantine conditions. The current situation is by no means favorable.”
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
May 18, 2020
