Health Officials Alarmed by Covid-19 Resurgence

Iran reported its highest number of daily deaths on Tuesday, as health officials expressed grave concerns over an influx of Covid-19 patients.
The daily count of fatalities rose to 200 on Tuesday, up by 37 from the previous peak and the highest single-day jump on record, Health Ministry Spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari was quoted as saying by ISNA.
Health Minister Saeed Namaki said on the same day that he had "repeatedly" warned against the normalization of pandemic, calling it "one of the most dangerous approaches that could make us face an awful predicament". 
The minister said, "I did not want the public to pay a hefty price to be convinced to believe me." 
Over 2,637 were diagnosed with Covid-19 during a 24-hour period, taking the national total to 245,688.
According to the ministry's spokesperson, the 200 new deaths brought the toll to 11,931. The government has raised the alarm over 20 of the country's 31 provinces.
Namaki said, "As you can recall, we pleaded with the public and those who were pushing for reopenings … So many ignored us and now a new wave is getting us in trouble."
“Adherence to health protocols dropped from 85% in the early days of reopenings to below 20%,” he added, asking businesses to observe the guidelines devised by his ministry.
“In the province of Tehran, compliance with hygiene protocols went from 69% to 11% in roughly a month,” the head of the region's coronavirus taskforce, Alireza Zali, said. 
Zali reported an 8.5% rise in hospitalization across Tehran Province in recent days and said the country is facing "new circumstances" due to an exponential rise in the number of cases and the pandemic affecting all age groups this time around.
Iran has administered 1.84 million PCR tests to detect infections. Some 207,000 have recovered from the disease and 3,270 are in critical condition.

Mask Wearing Underscored

Namaki noted that wearing facemasks and observing social distancing can reduce the chances of virus transmission by 80%.
"Masks are one of the best ways to prevent the virus infection … I ask people to take Covid-19 seriously and to take masks seriously," the minister said.
During her daily briefing, Lari called the surge in fatalities "painful" and pleaded with people to wear facemasks.
Zali pointed out that wearing face coverings is only one of the protective strategies against the deadly outbreak.
"Wearing facemasks does not solve all our problems. It might actually give people a false sense of security," Zali said.
Frequent handwashing, avoiding infected patients and preventing the free movement of those with coronavirus symptoms were among the official's solutions to the viral problem.
Nearly 11.76 million have caught the virus worldwide, which has claimed the lives of 541,000 people.