Iran Prepared to Deal With New Wave of Coronavirus

Health Minister Bahram Einollahi said on Saturday that Iran has taken the necessary steps to contain a possible sixth wave of Covid-19 as the country plans to move forward with school and university reopenings. 
“With the significant extent of vaccine coverage and public observance of safety rules, the next wave will be less intense than the one before,” the minister was quoted as saying by ISNA.
According to Einollahi, Iran has brought in a total of 110 million vaccine doses since the launch of the vaccination campaign and some 71 million shots have been administered so far. 
He nevertheless noted that all hospitals across the country are on full alert in case of a resurgence. 
The Health Ministry on Saturday gave out over 828,000 vaccine doses, taking the number of fully vaccinated people to 23 million and those who have received a first shot to 48 million. 
Despite vaccinations and the containment of the fifth wave, Iran has persistently reported near 10,000 infections and 200 deaths on a daily basis. 
Head of the Health Ministry Center for Infectious Disease Control, Mohammad Mahdi Gouya, also pointed out that inoculation alone will not be enough to stem the disease. 
“We’re getting closer to cold seasons, children will go to schools and students to universities, the virus could reemerge in these circumstances,” the official warned. 
Gouya added that proper ventilation systems and following safety measures could play a huge role in containment, in addition to fast vaccine rollout. 
Since the beginning of the school semester in late September, less-populated schools have switched back to in-person learning. 
In November, more schools are slated to resume at least part of their operations. 
Schools and universities closed down in February 2020 when the coronavirus was first registered in the central city of Qom.