Stay-Home, Lockdown Measures Underlined

An official with Iran’s Health Ministry has urged authorities to tighten restrictions on citizens’ movements and promote the stay-home campaign to stem a surge in coronavirus cases that has overwhelmed hospitals across the country.
“Hospital capacities are close to breaking point,” Deputy Health Minister Mohammad Ardakani declared, urging stringent measures and the reintroduction of stay-home campaign in the face of a third wave of infections, IRNA reported.
“When the number of patients exceed the capacity of a hospital, it is really impossible to take care of every single patient,” he added.
The health official pointed out that if the uptrend of cases continues, the healthcare system will be forced to resort to convalescent homes to accommodate Covid-19 patients, stressing that “these homes cannot do what a hospital does”.
Tehran’s Governor General Anoushirvan Mohseni Bandpey said he has submitted recommendations to the Interior Ministry for the remote working of some 640,000 employees in the capital.
On Saturday, the National Coronavirus Taskforce closed down high-risk places of business, including cinema theaters and gyms, for one week to contain the resurgence of the deadly virus but faced criticism for insufficient shutdowns, especially with banks and offices remaining open, which compels over half a million employees to commute to work and increase the risk of transmission.
In addition to advocating remote working, Bandpey said, “We need to tighten supervision on private businesses and malls, as some do not take safety guidelines seriously.”
The official also addressed concerns over a possible rise in travel following the closure of businesses by saying, “We have called for imposing fines for non-essential travel to be able to manage Tehran’s circumstances.”
Bandpey noted that ast month’s end-of-summer vacations and crowded religious ceremonies have led to a sharp rise in infections and deaths.

Infections Top 470,000

Iran recorded over 3,650 newly confirmed cases of the respiratory illness on Sunday, which took the national tally to nearly 472,000, the spokeswoman of Health Ministry, Sima Sadat Lari, was quoted as saying by ISNA.
Overnight deaths again went past 210 to bring the total toll to 26,957, she added.
The daily death rate is nearing the record high of 235 in late July during the peak of the second wave. Officials suggest that non-compliance with health protocols has triggered the third wave of infections.
While wearing facemask is being increasingly observed, Tehran’s governor general said social distancing is being ignored, especially in the public transport system.
Bandpey said, “Observance of social distancing averaged 35% in metros and 55% in buses and taxis.” 
Experts say Tehran’s overcrowded public transport system accounts for one-fourth of transmissions.
Nearly 390,000 have recovered from the infectious disease and 4,154 are in critical condition, according to data compiled by the Health Ministry.
Iran has administered over 4.1 million polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to detect coronavirus infections.
Global Covid-19 cases continue to climb and have reached 35.1 million, as fatalities crossed 1.03 million.