- Harirchi at Kurdistan Governorate: Until further notice, gathering of any more than two people has the risk of spreading the virus. The country is expected to be affected by the Coronavirus over the next year and deaths will continue.
- In Kermanshah, the number of infected people was, initially 30 per day; it has increased to 300 in recent days.
- The corridors of Ahvaz hospitals are full of patients. On Monday, June 15, at least six patients died before being admitted to the hospital. On the same day, 20 people died in Ahvaz’s Baqaei Hospital alone.
- In Fars, 550 Coronavirus patients were referred to Ali Asghar Hospital on Monday but were sent to the IRGC and Army field hospitals due to lack of capacity. The death toll in Shiraz on that day was at least 37. The number of patients increased to 700 on Tuesday.
The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) announced on Thursday, June 18, 2020, that the Coronavirus death toll in 334 cities across Iran has exceeded 53,200. The number of victims in Khuzestan is 4,360, Isfahan 2,990, Lorestan 1,890, East Azerbaijan 1,780, Kermanshah 1,399, Kurdistan 1,130, Kerman 720, Central 630, and Bushehr 520.
In view of the tragic spread of the Coronavirus in many provinces across the country, Hassan Rouhani told the IRGC news agency, Fars, yesterday, “With the cooperation of other Coronavirus committees, including the Social Security Committee, plans should be made to control the disease in these provinces. And if necessary, to impose restrictions and measures to contain the virus in red provinces. We will review and decide on Saturday’s meeting.
Speaking to state-run daily, Hamshahri, today, Iraj Harirchi, the regime’s Deputy Health Minister, said, “It is expected that the country will be affected by the Coronavirus for the next year and deaths will continue as a result of that… In cases where the rate of infection increases in some cities, we will have to quarantine and impose strict restrictions. Ten provinces of the country are facing an upward trend (of the virus infection).”
In Isfahan, doctors, and local sources report of hundreds of deaths in the past five days.
In Kermanshah, according to the regime’s official news agency, IRNA, today, “Coronavirus is currently spreading in the border cities and western parts of Kermanshah (Province), including Qasr-e Shirin, Gilan Gharb, and Sarpol Zahab, and has caused the situation to turn red due to the increase in the number of patients and deaths. At the beginning of the Coronavirus outbreak in Kermanshah Province, the number of infected people was 30 per day; it has increased to 300 in recent days.”
In East Azerbaijan, the deputy governor told IRNA today, “Compared to the last three weeks, we are going through a very different and dangerous situation in the Province … Due to the increase in the number of Coronavirus infections and deaths in the Province, corresponding restrictions will be applied again.”
In Fars Province, according to doctors, 550 Coronavirus patients have referred to Ali Asghar Hospital in Shiraz on Monday alone but were sent to the IRGC and Army field hospitals due to lack of capacity. The number of patients increased to 700 on Tuesday, whereas the number of deaths in Shiraz on Monday, June 15 was at least 37. The president of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences said, “The extraordinary increase in the number of Coronavirus patients in Fars …. has sounded the alarm … The number of patients in the past 24 hours has been unprecedented since the beginning of the outbreak,” reported IRNA on June 17, 2020.
In Kurdistan Province, Iraj Harirchi warned that until further notice, gathering of more than two people would increase the risk of transmitting the virus. Speaking to the state TV, he added, “Kurdistan is one of the provinces that has unfortunately seen an increase in the number of hospitalizations and deaths in the past ten days, … Three large hospitals in Sanandaj with a capacity of about 520 beds have been allocated to this matter and now unfortunately a significant number of them is occupied.” At the same time, the president of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences told Javan, state-run website, yesterday, “Our main concern now is that the number of patients exceeds the ability of nurses and doctors.”
Speaking to IRNA, the vice-president of Birjand University of Medical Sciences in South Khorasan, said yesterday, “For the past one or two weeks, Coronavirus cases have been on the rise in South Khorasan. We also have an increase in hospitalizations for respiratory diseases and a large number of patients are currently hospitalized in the Coronavirus special wards.”
In Yazd, the vice president of the University of Medical Sciences told the state TV, yesterday, “The number of Coronavirus patients has doubled compared to two weeks ago.”
In Hormozgan, the president of Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences told IRNA, today, “In the past ten days, the number of infected people has been increasing … We must keep in mind that the whole city is contaminated.” “The Province’s banks will be closed on Thursday, June 18, due to the Coronavirus outbreak in the Province. The outbreak in Hormozgan has so far killed several bank employees. Hormozgan has been closed for three days since June 16 and the villages of this Province have been quarantined for two weeks,” reported Fars news agency today.
In Khuzestan Province, according to eyewitnesses, even the corridors of Ahvaz hospitals are full of patients. On Monday, June 15, at least six patients died in Ahvaz before being admitted to the hospital. On the same day, 20 people died in Baqaei Hospital alone. According to the Fars news agency, yesterday, “The acting president of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences announced in a press conference that since the beginning of the outbreak the number of those infected with the virus in Khuzestan Province was more than 30,000. But … after a few minutes, he denied the statistics and ordered the reporters and cameramen to leave the hall so that the meeting could continue behind closed doors. According to reports on cyberspace, some people have said that the unofficial statistics on those contracting the virus in the past 24 hours in Khuzestan was 1,200.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
June 18, 2020
