Overnight Covid-19 Cases Climb to 2,300

EghtesadOnline: Iran’s daily coronavirus cases remained above 2,000 for the third straight day on Wednesday, with only one-fifth requiring hospitalization, a health official announced.

News ID: ۷۵۰۰۹۷

21 May 2020

Health Ministry Spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said Iran registered 2,364 new infected patients, up by 11% a day earlier, taking the national total to nearly 127,000, ISNA reported.

Jahanpour said, “More than 80% of cases identified in the past 24 hours displayed mild symptoms.”

According to the health official, out of the 2,364 new infections, 457 were hospitalized and 1,899 either showed only mild symptoms or were in close contact with a patient.

Deaths from the respiratory illness also inched upward as much as 3.2%, adding 64 fatalities and taking the death toll to 7,183.

More than 2,600 are in critical condition and 98,808 have so far recovered from the deadly virus disease, known as Covid-19, that has taken the lives of over 325,000 worldwide.

Out of Iran’s 31 provinces, 13 have reported more than one death in a 24-hour period.

“During the past 24 hours, 10 provinces reported no fatalities and eight registered one each,” Jahanpour added.

The spokesman underlined the necessity of observing social distancing measures and refraining from travels.

Khuzestan Province is still on red alert but other regions are “relatively stable”, he said.

Alireza Zali, the head of Tehran’s Coronavirus Taskforce, spoke on national television on Wednesday on the status of the contagion in the capital.

Zali said, “The significant decline in infections in Tehran stems from the commitment of citizens to personal hygiene.”

He, however pointed, out that if people become complacent at any stage, it could upend the current success of the country in handling the viral outbreak.

Some northern and western parts of Iran have raised an alarm ahead of the two-day holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan when many travel to other cities and provinces.

Ahvaz, the capital of virus-stricken Khuzestan, will impose strict containment measures during the holidays. The western province of Lorestan, which is one of the regions with a higher rate of virus transmission than the country’s average, has banned groups from entering its hotspot tourist destinations during Eid-al-Fitr.

Worldwide Covid-19 cases crossed the five million mark on Wednesday.