Fears that Iran is in the grip of a second wave of coronavirus have been reinforced, with the health ministry saying 3,000 new cases were recorded in 24 hours – the highest figure for two months.
The Islamic Republic, one of the worst-hit countries in the Middle East, started easing its lockdown in April after a drop in deaths.
Its leaders have been reluctant to acknowledge that they may have lifted restrictions prematurely. They have argued that a recent rise in new infections was confined to certain provinces and that the number of deaths was relatively low. At the weekend the president, Hassan Rouhani, said most restrictions had now been lifted, pointing to the opening of 40,000 mosques, as well as shops and offices. Despite a clear reversal of fortunes in the past fortnight, few newspapers appeared willing to acknowledge that the virus had not been conquered.
But health ministry officials on Monday sent out a dire warning about complacency, saying the battle was far from over.
The health minister, Saeed Namaki, said he was witnessing sad scenes across the country. “Unfortunately,” he said, “corona is going to score a goal in the 90th minute if some officials and the people believe that corona is over. If we neglect the situation we will go backwards. People, have mercy on us, let’s have mercy on ourselves, government officials are getting tired.”
The latest figures showed 2,979 new infections in the previous 24 hours, taking the total of infections in Iran to 154,445. The daily figure is the highest since 1 April. The comparative figure for 1 May was 802 new infections.
The number of deaths is also starting to rise again, with 81 dead in the previous 24 hours, the highest figure since 27 April. A total of 8,778 have died since Iran’s outbreak began.
Namaki said he had been disturbed by the lack of social distancing on public transport. “The slightest negligence can destroy all successes and tarnish our reputation in the international arena,” he said.
Contrary to some messaging by Iran’s leadership that the virus was weakening, he said that it had become more dangerous. “Last week we had cases of patients dying at the age of 32 or 42 without any underlying disease, due to coronavirus,” he said.
“My colleagues and the deputies of the ministry of health are working around the clock and traveling to one province every day to control this epidemic, but we are dealing with local issues and behaviours that could lead to the return of the peak of the disease.” Wedding celebrations, he warned, would turn into funerals soon afterwards.