Middle East

Iran faces crisis amid record number of daily coronavirus infections


Iran is reluctantly confronting the possibility of a renewed political crisis as well as a health one after the latest figures showed the number of new coronavirus infections at a record high.

The government appeared to have brought the virus under control a month ago, but a second wave of the virus has steadily been gathering force, and according to data released by the health ministry there were 3,574 confirmed new infections in 24 hours – an increase of 440 on the previous day.

The previous daily record in Iran, recorded on 30 March, was 3,186. The country was one of the first in the Middle East to be gripped by the disease.

In spite of a steadily rising infection rate, authorities have been progressively lifting controls on shops, mosques, schools, offices and travel. The border with Turkey was also being opened for haulage traffic on Thursday.

In recent days government spokesmen have been increasingly critical of the public, accusing them of ignoring the continued restrictions, especially in workplaces. “If the rules are not obeyed,” the president, Hassan Rouhani, warned, “the government would be forced to restore the quarantine situation again, disrupting normal life and inflicting serious damage on the entire national economy.”

There was little immediate domestic coverage of the record infection figure.

Iran coronavirus

The chief solace for the health ministry was that the number of daily deaths has not risen at the same speed as new infections, giving some credence to the argument that the increased level of infections is partly a result of more widespread testing and better recording. The number of deaths recorded in the previous 24 hours was only 59, taking the death toll to 8,071. The highest number of daily deaths was 158 on 4 April.

Officials now face a dilemma over whether to reimpose controls, a move that will be unpopular and damage the sanction weakened economy, or hope that the second wave will somehow peter out. Only 10 days ago the number of new infections was below 2,000, and the exponential rise in the last 5 days cannot be explained solely by widespread testing.

The virus was reported as worst in Khuzestan, Hormozgan, Kurdistan and Kermanshah provinces. All citizens were advised to wear face masks in public in these areas.

Anecdotal evidence from Hormozgan showed women were contracting the disease while shopping. Nearly 25% of those with the disease were classified as “housewives”.

In a sign of the competing pressures facing the government, the Iranian parliament research centre produced figures to show per capita income in the country had fallen 34% over the last three years, partly because of inflation. Nearly 60% of employees were not covered by social insurance.



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