Iran Coronavirus Daily Update: 6,280 Infections, 82 Deaths

Iran recorded 6,280 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday and 82 fatalities, an all-time low in nearly seven months, the Health Ministry announced.
The freshly identified cases took the national tally past 1.261 million, the ministry’s spokeswoman, Sima Sadat Lari, was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Lari said, “Over the past 24 hours, 82 Covid-19 patients lost their lives, bringing the total number of deaths to 55,830.”
The health official once against warned against complacency and asked the public to continue to follow health protocols. The national average for adherence to safety measures stands at 86%.
She said, “The downward trend doesn’t mean the disease has been eliminated; it is still lurking in the country.”
New cases, hospitalizations and deaths sharply declined in Iran after the country imposed night curfews and travel bans, moving many cities from red alert to orange and yellow.
“We are still fighting hard against the virus,” Lari said, hoping that the public will continue to play its part and observe mitigation guidelines.
Iran says it will import its first shipment of Covid-19 vaccine doses in a few weeks.
The shots have been bought through COVAX, a global initiative attempting to ensure equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines in low-income countries.

Pandemic End Not Close

Masoud Mardani, a member of the National Coronavirus Headquarters’ Science Committee, said the outbreak will be contained in Iran no sooner than autumn 2021.
Citing a report by the World Health Organization, Mardani said, “Countries that accelerate mass inoculation and continue to impose strict restrictions will still be grappling with Covid-19 until the end of summer.”
Mardani cautioned against optimism about a return to normality, pointing out that history will repeat itself if the public start to assume the virus has retreated.
“Family gatherings and travels increase transmission rates and a resurgence disaster will happen,” he said.
According to Lari, four cities in the northern Mazandaran Province, a tourist hotspot, are on red alert, 43 are in orange state and 401 are yellow, or low-risk.
“Over 1.04 million have recovered from the respiratory illness and 4,780 are currently in critical condition, occupying beds in intensive care units,” she said.
Lari reported that Iran has so far administered more than 7.9 million diagnostic tests to track infections.
The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 around the world has surged to 86.9 million and the death toll reached 1.87 million.