Covid-Related Mortalities Likely to Rise 

Due to the increase in the number of outpatient visits related to the coronavirus, fatalities from the disease are likely to follow suit over the next few weeks, a senior official with the Health Ministry’s Center for Management of Infectious Disease, Babak Eshrati, stated on Sunday. 
The rise in outpatient visits will definitely increase hospitalizations, which could in turn cause more deaths, especially among individuals already suffering from chronic illnesses, Eshrati was quoted as saying by ISNA. 
“This rise was predictable and it seems like the upward trend will continue for the next few weeks,” the health official said. 
After new Omicron offshoots were detected in the country in early January, authorities warned that a new Covid wave would hit the country and reach its peak near the start of the New Iranian Year on March 21. 
“We normally announce a peak when the healthcare system is overwhelmed. We haven’t seen a new peak as of yet,” Eshrati noted. 
He said that estimates on the number of daily cases during February were higher than what happened in reality. He pointed out that mistakes in projections could stem from the milder symptoms caused by the new variants. 
According to Eshrati, infection rates could still surge after the New Year holidays known as Norouz as millions of Iranians travel or visit family. 
He nevertheless added, “Since Norouz coincides with Ramadan, people might travel less this year.”
During the fasting month of Ramadan, travel is prohibited for Muslims unless under certain circumstances or for prolonged periods.
In the past two years, Covid cases would rise after the end of Norouz. The concurrency of Norouz and Ramadan could disrupt patterns set in the previous two years. 

Daily Update 

The Health Ministry on Sunday registered 463 new cases of the coronavirus and 15 more mortalities, taking the tally of infections to 7.570 million and the national death toll to 144,893. 
Only 341 patients have been hospitalized in intensive care units throughout the country. Since the start of the pandemic, more than 7.3 million hospitalized patients have recovered from the infectious disease and been discharged from hospitals. 
Health officials have encouraged the public to receive booster shots to build immunity against new Omicron variants circulating in the country. 
Some 31 million Iranians have chosen to get a third booster dose. A total of 155.4 million coronavirus vaccines have been administered since the start of the national vaccination campaign.