Iran Archives - Mediarabe

Iran at breaking point as it fights third wave of coronavirus

October 14, 2020

a man that is standing in the street: Photograph: Xinhua/Rex/Shutterstock

© Provided by The Guardian
Photograph: Xinhua/Rex/Shutterstock

Iran, the crucible of coronavirus in the Middle East, smashed two grim records this week, reporting its largest number of deaths in a single 24 hours since the outbreak started in March, and the largest number of new infections.

Iranian health officials openly admit Iran is deep into its third, and biggest, wave of the disease, and evidence suggests an exhausted and impoverished country is struggling to cope as trust in government diminishes, sanctions weaken the economy and hospitals report overcrowded intensive care units.

Mohammad Talebpour, the director of Sina hospital, the oldest in Tehran, predicted that if Iranians did not collectively take action and the disease persisted for another 18 months, as many as 300,000 could die. He said a third of the medical staff at his hospital had at one point contracted the disease.

a man holding a sign: A police officer wearing a face mask works on a street in Tehran, Iran.

© Photograph: Xinhua/Rex/Shutterstock
A police officer wearing

The Latest: Iran has new daily high in virus deaths — 251

October 11, 2020

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| Health Current Events

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran has announced its highest single-day death toll from the coronavirus – 251.

Health Ministry spokesperson Sima Sadat Lari said Sunday that Iran’s total death toll from COVID-19 now stands at 28,544, making Iran the hardest-hit country in its region. It’s previous daily high for deaths of 239 came just four days earlier.

Officials reported 3,822 newly confirmed coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, raising its total during the pandemic to 500,075. Among those recently infected is the head of Iran’s atomic energy organization, the latest senior official to test positive for the virus.

The government has largely resisted imposing widescale lockdowns as the economy teeters from continued U.S. economic sanctions that effectively bar Iran from selling its oil internationally. Iran’s currency plunged to its lowest level ever Sunday.

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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

– The White House doctor says

Iran has new daily high in virus deaths — 251

October 11, 2020

| No Comments

| Health Current Events

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has announced its highest single-day death toll from the coronavirus — 251.

Health Ministry spokesperson Sima Sadat Lari said Sunday that Iran’s total death toll from COVID-19 now stands at 28,544, making Iran the hardest-hit country in its region. It’s previous daily high for deaths of 239 came just four days earlier.

Officials reported 3,822 newly confirmed coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, raising its total during the pandemic to 500,075. Among those recently infected is the head of Iran’s atomic energy organization, the latest senior official to test positive for the virus.

The government has largely resisted imposing widescale lockdowns as the economy teeters from continued U.S. economic sanctions that effectively bar Iran from selling its oil internationally. Iran’s currency plunged to its lowest level ever Sunday.

___

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

— The White House doctor says

Iran plans to expand face mask mandate beyond capital

October 11, 2020

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| Health Plans

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran plans to make mask-wearing mandatory in public in other large cities after imposing it in Tehran to fight rising coronavirus infections, the health minister said on Sunday, as the country’s nuclear chief became the latest official to be infected.

Mask-wearing became mandatory in public in the capital on Saturday and President Hassan Rouhani announced that violators would be fined, as the country battles a third wave of coronavirus infections.

“We have asked the police and the basij (paramilitary volunteers) and other agencies to help us .. fight violations more severely,” Health Minister Saeed Namaki said.

“It has been decided that this action would start from Tehran and will be extended to other large cities in the coming weeks,” Namaki said in remarks carried by state television.

Meanwhile Iranian media reported that Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, had tested positive for

Jailed Iran rights lawyer ends hunger strike over health concerns

September 27, 2020

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| Health Magazine

Jailed Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has stopped a hunger strike she began more than 45 days ago due to health concerns, her husband said on Saturday.

Sotoudeh, 57, announced she was going on hunger strike last month to demand the release of political prisoners and focus attention on their plight due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nasrin Sotoudeh standing in front of a door: Jailed Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, seen in this September 2013 picture with her husband Reza Khandan, has ended a 46-day-old hunger strike for health reasons, according to her husband

© Behrouz MEHRI
Jailed Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, seen in this September 2013 picture with her husband Reza Khandan, has ended a 46-day-old hunger strike for health reasons, according to her husband

Last week, Sotoudeh’s husband said she was hospitalised for five days before being returned to her prison cell. On Saturday, he said she had ended the hunger strike.

“We spoke briefly this morning. She decided to end the hunger strike in order not to worsen her heart problems,” Reza Khandan told AFP.

On August 11, Sotoudeh and Khandan announced