Iran’s New Coronavirus “Base of Operations” Takes Shape

As of Thursday, October 29, more than 5,000 Covid-19 patients were hospitalized in ICU wards across Iran. First deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi has said he believes more than half of these patients are likely to die. If Harirchi is correct in this dismal prediction, it means Iran’s official death toll from Covid-19 will soon stand at over 36,500. And these are just the official figures: most experts in public health in Iran now believe the real figure is likely to be double, triple or even quadruple the figure cited by health ministry spokeswoman Dr. Shima Sadat Lari each day.

By order of the Supreme Leader, a “base of operations” for the National Coronavirus Taskforce has now been created. President Rouhani has already appointed interior minister Abdolreza Rahmani Yazdi as its commander and Alireza Raeesi as its spokesman. On October 29, Rouhani also announced that Babak Din-Parast, current deputy minister for economy and regional development, would be its secretary.

The duties of this newly-formed “base of operations” include “facilitating and pursuing the prompt and accurate execution of decisions by the National Coronavirus Taskforce”, “codifying execution guidelines” and “taking advantage of the capabilities of social institutions such as mosques, the Basij, charities and others to support the execution of the National Coronavirus Taskforce’s decisions and to help the livelihood of vulnerable social strata”.

The brief for the new hub also mentions strengthening “the sense of public responsibility” to face up to the ongoing crisis as well as fostering “cooperation and empathy” between members of the public, the private sector, the executive and the military. Education programs are to be established “aimed at creating social trust and motivation regarding decisions made by the National Coronavirus Taskforce”. But the new base has an enforcement role as well; it also intends to augment the presence of what it called “bailiffs and supervisors” tasked with “encouraging” people to follow health guidelines.  

Provinces Round-up

According to a recent edict from the National Coronavirus Taskforce, 50 percent of all workers in Tehran province, in both the public and private sectors, are now expected to be working remotely on alternating days. But the instruction is reportedly only being followed in government offices – and even then, not all of them – while many private sector employees in Tehran are still going to work as normal.  

To date, 32 people working for 11 government agencies in Tehran province have died from Covid-19, reported Masoud Shafiei, president of Tehran’s Budget and Planning Organization.

Currently 6,125 Covid-19 patients are hospitalized across Tehran province and 700 are in a critical condition on ICU wards, reported Dr. Alireza Zali, head of the Tehran Coronavirus Taskforce. Dr. Zali added that since September 22, Tehran’s daily record for both new coronavirus infections and Covid-19 fatalities has been broken nine times. He also reported that on Wednesday, October 28, approximately 10,700 patients with Covid-19 symptoms had attended hospitals and clinics in Tehran.

In the past 24 hours, 24 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in Kerman province. If those who had Covid-19 symptoms but were not confirmed cases are added to the total, between 40 and 50 patients are dying in this province at a minimum, reported Nozar Nakhaei, a member of Kerman University of Medical Science’s scientific staff. He also reported that close to 1,000 Covid-19 patients are currently in hospital in this province.

Infections and fatalities have been rising sharply in Alborz province in the past few weeks. Covid-19 has killed 19 people in the past 24 hours in this province while another 142 patients were admitted to hospital, bringing the total number of acute patients to 880. On October 29, Azizollah Shahbazi, the government’s high representative in Alborz, reported that restrictions in Alborz – including the closure of entertainment, sports, educational and religious centers – will be extended for another week.

Iran’s Latest Coronavirus Statistics

In her daily briefing for October 29, health ministry spokeswoman Dr. Sima Sadat Lari announced the official coronavirus statistics for the past 24 hours:

Dr. Lari also reported that all 31 Iranian provinces are in red, orange or yellow states of alert.

This is part of IranWire's coronavirus chronology. Read the full chronology