Iran's Daily Covid-19 Deaths Drop to Eight-Day Low

EghtesadOnline: Iran’s overnight fatalities due to the coronavirus outbreak dropped to its lowest in eight days on Sunday, although the Health Ministry’s Covid-19 Epidemiology Committee announced that the death rate is still “relatively high”.

News ID: ۷۵۰۷۱۸

17 August 2020

“Within a 24-hour period, the viral infection claimed the lives of 147 Iranians, hitting the lowest daily count since August 8, which pushed the nationwide death toll to 19,639,” the Health Ministry’s Spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari was quoted as saying by ISNA.

“Based on standard diagnostic criteria, 2,133 new Covid-19 patients were identified in the country, 1,019 of whom were hospitalized,” Lari said, adding that the new cases have taken Iran’s total to 343,203.

Alireza Biglari, the head of Pasteur Institute of Iran, discussed vaccination against the coronavirus in a videoconference, pointing out that abiding by health protocols, observing social distancing and wearing facemasks will be necessary “over the next two years”.

“Even if all pharmaceutical companies begin to produce Covid-19 vaccines, they cannot cover eight billion people in the next year or two,” the head of the medical research center said.

According to Biglari, a totally effective vaccine against the deadly virus might never be developed.

“One or two locally-manufactured vaccines have so far shown promising results,” he said, while announcing that human clinical trials will commence as soon as animal tests are completed.

Over 297,000 have so far recovered from the respiratory illness and 3,880 are in intensive care units, Lari said.

Iran has administered 2.86 million coronavirus tests since the start of the pandemic to track down infected patients.

Pointing to the mandatory facemask wearing order, Lari said, “Mask wearing is observed by 70% in public spaces, by 75% in the public transport system and by 80% among office employees.”

Global Covid-19 cases crossed 21.63 million on Sunday, as its death toll rose above 770,000.