Coronavirus Tally Tops 18,900 Fatalities, 333,000 Infections

EghtesadOnline: New confirmed coronavirus infections and fatalities pushed Iran’s caseload to over 333,600 and its countrywide death toll to 18,988, a health official said.

News ID: ۷۵۰۶۹۱

13 August 2020

Over 2,510 were diagnosed with Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, on Wednesday, Spokeswoman for Health Ministry Sima Sadat Lari was quoted as saying by ISNA. This is the third consecutive day of increasing infections.

Lari said, “Within a 24-hour period, 188 Covid-19 patients lost their lives to the disease and the toll reached 18,988.”

The second wave of infections has placed 15 of Iran’s 31 provinces on red alert and 11 in an alarming state, she added.

According to the health official, over 290,000 have recovered from the respiratory illness and 3,940 are critically ill, hospitalized in intensive care units.

Iran has administered 2.76 million coronavirus tests to track infections.

Members of the coronavirus taskforce requested an extension of the suspension of Tehran’s restricted traffic zone. The removal of capital’s restricted zone can reduce congestion in the public transport system and curb virus transmission.

Russia is the first country to register a vaccine against Covid-19. Reacting to the news, Mahmoud Najafi Arab, the head of the Health Economic Committee in Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, said, “The Health Ministry needs access to the vaccine’s scientific data before approving it for use in Iran.”

Many health authorities across the world are concerned about the safety of the Russian vaccine.

Globally, 20.5 million have contracted the virus and 747,000 have died since the pandemic was detected in Wuhan, China, late December.