COVID cases on the rise in Iran
Following a long period of relative calm, Iran once again has seen a sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in recent weeks.
Figures released by the Iranian Health Ministry showed that 36 people lost their lives due to the coronavirus during a 24-hour period.
COVID-19 has claimed the lives of more than 145,000 people in Iran since the pandemic began in 2019.
The ministry also reported 1,064 new cases during the same period, of which more than half have been hospitalized.
A member of the country’s taskforce to fight the disease has blamed the people for the rise in the numbers. Minou Mohraz believes that people are ignoring health protocols, including social distancing and wearing masks.
In the last days of the Iranian year, which began on March 21, health experts warned about the increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the country.
Payam Tabarsi, a member of the country’s coronavirus taskforce, had earlier emphasized that the virus has not disappeared and warned that the number of cases infected by Omicron subvariants, XBB and BQ1, is increasing in the country.
Experts had also warned that gatherings and festivals at the end of the Iranian year, without observing health protocols, could cause an increase in the number of COVID cases.
Iran has faced an increase in cases after every important event and various occasions. Experts had predicted the spike in cases after the Nowruz holidays, during which Iranians and their families meet their relatives.