· Joint letter from Medics: So far, nearly 200 medical staff have died due to Coronavirus, and the number of victims of the new wave has exceeded the initial wave. In these circumstances, holding Muharram’s ceremonies, even using masks, and observing social distancing, still carries the serious possibility of disease transmission.
· Governor of Ilam: The number of Coronavirus patients in the Province has increased by 3.6 times and the number of deaths by 2.2 times in the past 45 days compared to the last four months. (IRNA, August 8, 2020)
· Ardabil University of Medical Sciences: In the past three weeks, Ardabil has experienced the highest rates of infection and death due to Coronavirus compared to the last five months. (IRNA, August 8, 2020)
· Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences: Currently, 90% of ICU beds in Bandar Abbas are occupied by Coronavirus patients. (Asr-e Iran, August 8, 2020)
The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) announced on Saturday, August 8, 2020, that the Coronavirus death toll in 373 cities across Iran had passed 84,900. The number of victims in Tehran is 21,000, Khorasan Razavi 6,288, East Azerbaijan 2,450, Fars 2,365, Kurdistan 1,715, Kerman 1,281, Hormozgan 1,080, Semnan 1,065, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad 455, and South Khorasan 410.
While despite the Coronavirus outbreak, the regime’s clerics, prompted by the monetary incentives, are employing various tactics to force the holding of the Muharram mourning ceremonies a group of physicians wrote a letter to the Marja’s (sources of emulation) and Seminaries, emphasizing that 200 of the country’s medical staff had died with Coronavirus and that the new wave had taken more lives than the first wave. “Holding any gatherings, including the Muharram mourning ceremonies and distributing charity food, will increase the number of patients and result in the death of our compatriots,” they wrote. “No regulator can guarantee the observance of health protocols by millions of mourners. If a permit is issued, it would be impossible to guarantee that controls could be exerted on the size of the crowd and that ceremonies would be held in open-air all over the country. In these circumstances, even by using a mask and exercising social distancing, still carries the serious possibility of spreading the disease,” they added, according to ISNA, today.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
August 8, 2020
