Another Covid-19 Peak Possible 

Iran is at risk of seeing another surge in coronavirus cases in the near future, Hamid Souri, an epidemiologist, said on Monday. 
“The health system needs to be prepared and increase testing and monitor borders,” Souri was quoted as saying by ISNA. 
According to the expert, the situation with the pandemic was “more fragile” than before and Iran and a few other countries could expect a peak in infections. 
“There is no active patient detection system in our country, testing has dropped so there is no clear picture of the pandemic,” Souri noted. 
He referred to statistics provided by several regional nations as the basis for his argument that infections were on the rise. 
Over 50 nations across the world have reported a surge in positive cases. A few of them, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, are located in the Middle East, where many Iranians travel to. 
On Saturday, the National Coronavirus Headquarters announced that it was no longer mandatory for citizens to wear facemasks in open spaces. 
Souri said he was against the new announcement, “We’re hearing concerning news. I’m absolutely against easing Covid measures.”

Booster Shots

Souri also noted that a booster shot was only necessary if there was a decline in the immunity provided by previous doses. That data is unavailable in Iran. 
The NCH had asked the general public on Saturday to get a booster dose if more than six months had passed from their previous Covid-19 vaccination, without addressing immunity levels. 
The Health Ministry logged one mortality on Monday, taking the national toll to 141,386. 
It also detected 352 new patients on the same day, bringing the total number of infected patients since the start of the outbreak to 7.23 million. 
Over the past day, 13,200 more people were inoculated, pushing the number of doses administered to 150.336 million. 
Some 27.7 million of Iran’s population of 85 million have received the third booster dose and an overwhelming majority have refused to take the shot. 
The government is encouraging the public to get a fourth shot of a Covid-19 vaccine as soon as possible. Only locally-produced vaccines are currently available in Iran.