According to the Iranian Resistance, the COVID-19 death toll in Iran has surged past 50,900 as of Thursday. This is the tip of the iceberg. The regime’s wrong policies and mishandling of this crisis will result in a humanitarian tragedy.
The Iranian regime denied the existence of COVID-19 in Iran for months to have a larger turnout at its sham parliamentary elections. The mullahs were expecting a low turnout and a general boycott, since their conflict with people following the two nationwide uprisings in November 2019 and January 2018 reached an irreversible point, with people calling unanimously for regime change.
Due to an international campaign led by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK) and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) publishing the true statistics of the COVID-19 and mounting pressure on the regime, it was forced to announce the virus’ existence. Yet, the regime did not issue a nationwide quarantine quickly, and when it did, it was not backed with financial support. This resulted in more Iranian people, already grappling with poverty and the novel coronavirus, to go under more pressure. Therefore, fearing a nationwide uprising and to avoid sparking the restive society the regime forced people back to work.
The heightened infection rates point to the accuracy of early warnings that Tehran’s economic re-opening plans were premature. The Javan daily, which belongs to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), published a report by the Kermanshah Medical Science University which reads: “The number of new hospitalized coronavirus cases have more than doubled in comparison to last month, and also the number of COVID-19 deaths has increased in the past one or two weeks. The number of dire patients is increasing with each passing day.”
The Iranian regime’s policy in handling the coronavirus, for controlling the restive Iranian society and achieving its economic goal, is the herd immunity.
Now, according to the statistics published by the Iranian Resistance and even considering the regime’s official statistics, over 50,000 deaths and the mounting infection rate, and the regime’s herd immunity policy confirm what’s going on in Iran is just the tip of the iceberg. The state-run media now acknowledge this tragic reality.
In this regard, the state-run Ayneh Jam news agency, in an article published on June 11, while referring to the regime’s contradictory decisions in handling the coronavirus wrote: “A look at the contradictions of decision-making in dealing with the coronavirus has reinforced the notion that we are now facing ‘herd immunity’ to overcome the crisis. This is due to the country’s rapid transition from semi-quarantine conditions and the reopening of many jobs and the initial reduction in warnings about the disease. According to the latest statistics recently released by the country’s health authorities, between 10 and 15 percent of Iranians have been infected with the COVID-19. That’s about 12 million people.”
“This means that the disease has increased 60 times each month. If the novel coronavirus continues to rise with the same pace, (especially with the rise in the number of patients in recent weeks), it looks like at least 50 percent of the Iranian society will be affected by the end of July,” the report added.
In another part, while reviewing the regime’s herd immunity which certainly increases the infection rate and the number of the COVID-19 patients, the report reads: “The volume of pressure on the health complex and medical centers during June and July will be more than ever, a body that has endured all the shortcomings during the last four months, has made significant efforts in the field of disease management and is reaching the end of its power and capacity. They will be exhausted; and even out of the service circle.”
“The greater concern is that relying on herd immunity policy exposes more people to the threat of this virus, particularly the elderly and the sick who are more vulnerable, and this will certainly result in more deaths. In addition, due to the unknown nature of the virus, in case of its crossing of the crisis point, it is possible that no management is possible on it and its destructive effects are far more than the gradual progression of the disease in the country,” the report added.
Another article published by the state-run daily Mostaghel on its website on June 1, quoted Dr. Hassan Rafiei as saying: “Iran [regime] does not have the right conditions to fight post-coronavirus complications and has serious problems with its most basic infrastructure. Democracy is the first cornerstone of cohesion, unity, empathy, and national development that does not exist in Iran.”
The state-run Mostaghel: #Iran regime’s policy of herd immunity has created the second wave of the virus
The regime has vast economic resources but has not used it to combat #COVID19, It can pay two million tomans a month for 4 years to 40 millionhttps://t.co/AVqv6ywiG9— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) June 6, 2020
The regime, both from a scientific and political perspective, is not able to control the second wave of the coronavirus or the restive Iranian society.
In a nutshell, the regime’s policy of herd immunity, as well as the worsening of the current COVID-19 crisis, will also affect the Iranian society and jeopardize the regime’s rule, pushing the people to address the real solution to this crisis, which is changing the regime as the root to all crises.
In this regard, in an article on May 26, the state-run daily Resalat referred to the regime’s mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis and warned: “Only an excuse is needed. Then, like throwing a lighted match into a haystack, it will destroy everything.”