Iran: Coronavirus Death Toll in 350 Cities Exceeds 82,600

· Health Ministry: Currently, 170 cities are red, and 101 cities are in alert. No city is virus-free, and all parts of the country are infected. (IRNA, Aug.4)

· Mohammad-Reza Mahboob-Far, member of the National Coronavirus Combat Taskforce (NCCT): There is no empty bed for critically ill patients! Coronavirus has infected all the villages, while the medical conditions in the villages are not good at all. If the Government does not do anything and be content with issuing recommendations only, the number of infections will increase six-fold in September, and the daily death toll will reach 1,600 to 2,000. (Aftab-e Yazd daily, Aug.4)

· Alireza Zali, head of the NCCT in Tehran: In the Past 24 hours, 662 people have been hospitalized, and 500 patients have been discharged. There are still fewer people released than hospitalized, and we are witnessing a negative upswing. (Mehr news agency, Aug.3)

· The situation in Qom is red, and the hospitals are full, and the medical staff are working around the clock.

· The workload of Rezvan Cemetery in Mashhad has tripled since the beginning of the Coronavirus outbreak in February. (Asr-e Iran daily, Aug.2)

The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) announced on Tuesday, August 4, 2020, that the number of Coronavirus fatalities in 350 cities across Iran had passed 82,600. The number of victims in Tehran is 20,500, Khorasan Razavi 6,168, Khuzestan 5,730, Mazandaran 3,865, Gilan 3,492, Alborz 2,530, Fars 2,225, Hamedan 2,095, Kermanshah 2,010, Kerman 1,226, North Khorasan 1,222, Central Province 947, Bushehr 925, Qazvin 665, and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad 430.

While the dimensions of the Coronavirus catastrophe due to the criminal policies of Khamenei and Rouhani continue to expand and aggravate, Rouhani brazenly said today that the “Government had had undeniable success and, as other countries have acknowledged, has had impressive progress in confronting the virus, its economic repercussions, and in securing the public’s health. But current is trying to distort these facts, which are a domestic and international achievement.” He added, “The Domestic Gross National Product in Europe and the US have decreased 10 and 30 percent, respectively. But the Iranian economy has demonstrated greater tolerance.” These lies come while poverty, inflation, and high prices are running wild in Iran, and workers are enduring the most difficult conditions due to the ruinous policies of the regime. In recent days, the workers have staged strikes in different parts of the country.

Mohammad-Reza Mahboob Far, a member of the National Coronavirus Combat Task Force, told Aftab-e Yazd today, “Presently, there are no empty beds for the very ill and those 50-plus years of age. Coronavirus has penetrated all the country’s villages. This is while the treatment conditions in the villages are wholly inadequate. In reality, today, Coronavirus carriers have moved from the cities to the villages.” She added, “None of the hygienic protocols, the use of masks and gloves, could replace actions which are Government responsibilities. If the Government continues only to offer recommendations and suggestions and remain in a general state of confusion and confuse the society as well, I dare say that in August, the number of those infected will increase by six-fold relative to today. And the number of deaths will reach between 1,600 to 2,000 daily. By then, the medical personnel will be exhausted, and shortages of equipment will have increased. Today, regrettably, Mr. Rouhani’s preoccupation is inflation and high prices. But even in that respect, they are only watching and in practice are doing nothing.”

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)

August 4, 2020