Cities on ‘Red’ Covid Alert Decline 

The number of cities color-coded as ‘red’, or highly dangerous in terms of coronavirus transmission rates, dropped by six to 12 in the Health Ministry’s weekly update released on Saturday. 
Cities coded as ‘red’ and ‘orange’ saw a decline across the country and areas coded as yellow increased from 227 to 270, ISNA reported. 
Some 150 cities have been declared as ‘blue’ or safe. 
Iran reported a resurgence of the Covid-19 outbreak near and after the New Year holidays as millions traveled domestically and internationally and held family gatherings. 
The Health Ministry on Saturday logged 324 newly identified infections which took the national tally of cases to 7.60 million
On the same day, 27 patients lost their lives to the contagious disease, pushing the total death toll of the pandemic to 145,808.
The eighth wave of the outbreak began in late autumn and early winter in Iran, fueled by new Omicron offshoots that are extremely infectious but do not cause severe symptoms, especially if a person is healthy or they have been vaccinated. 
Authorities have urged the public and mostly the immunocompromised and the elderly to receive booster shots if more than six months have passed since their last shot.