Call for Enhanced Safety Measures Amid Fear of New Covid Wave

President Ebrahim Raisi on Saturday called for improved Covid preventive measures as the detection of highly transmissible Omicron subvariants stoked fears of another peak. 
“Given the increase in the spread of the coronavirus in some parts of the world, we need to boost safety measures,” the president was quoted as saying by his official website in a meeting of the National Coronavirus Headquarters.
Raisi pointed to the spikes in the disease from the United States and Europe to nations in East Asia and said, “Infections and death rates in Iran have been at their lowest for so long.”
He nevertheless stated that due to the recent surges in infection rates in the world, Iran had to step up measures to prevent another peak. 
The Health Ministry registered three mortalities related to Covid on Saturday. In the same space of time, Japan reported 326 coronavirus deaths.
The president instructed the Health Ministry to prepare and equip vaccination centers to re-vaccinate anyone who has not received a dose in the past six months. 
He added that more than 156 million shots had been administered since the start of Iran’s vaccination campaign. “This contained the virus and enhanced immunity levels in the population.”
He also advised the Health Ministry to supply medications used to treat Covid in case there was a rise in cases and hospitalizations in the near future. 
On Thursday, Iran for the first time identified three patients infected with new offshoots of Omicron which have caused the recent surge in the respiratory illness around the world. 
The fast-spreading XBB and BQ.1 were both detected in the country but no data has so far been released on which city they were found in. 

Border Control 

Raisi stated that all border checkpoints had to be strictly monitored and travelers had to be screened for the virus to minimize the arrival of the new subvariants. 
The spokesman for the NHC, Abbas Shirozhan, also reiterated the president’s point and added, “We need to intensify control at air, sea and land borders.”
He also said they were setting up a committee to recruit healthcare workers for the possible new wave of Covid. 
Experts have suggested that the increase in infections and hospitalizations could occur in the next three to four weeks. 
Shirozhan noted, “We cannot exactly predict the future because the virus’s behavior might change with different variants.”
The health official said that if the public cooperated with the government on getting vaccinated, and the public followed safety rules such as wearing masks in public venues, the situation would not escalate.
At its worst, Iran reported 700 Covid fatalities a day. With the majority of the Iranian population inoculated against the contagion, the next peak will most likely be less severe. 
According to reports by health experts, the subvariants of Omicron might transmit faster but they did not cause more serious symptoms. 
The government is encouraging anyone over the age of 18 to get a booster shot as soon as possible.