Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, May 20, 2020—Mohammad Reza Mahboub-Far, a viral epidemiologist and member of the Iranian regime’s Coronavirus Taskforce, shed light on the mullahs’ deep concerns about a new social uprising raging across the country. Sending people back to work and relaxing quarantine measures despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic was due to the regime’s deep concerns of growing unrest, he acknowledged in an interview with the state-run Setareyeh Sobh daily on Tuesday, May 19.
“We were expecting a second COVID-19 wave and this occurred as we forecasted. This wave was merely due to the relaxation of quarantine measures and restrictions. This was unprecedented across the globe but was witnessed in Iran because officials were more concerned about social unrest and coronavirus consequences piling upon the economic hardships already being endured by the public. It was crystal clear that economic and day-to-day concerns are more important than the people’s lives. What we are witnessing today is the result and consequences of announcing various parts of the country as “white zones” while the truth was far different. Regarding infectious illnesses, and especially the novel coronavirus which is a respiratory illness, there is no such thing as a white area. The virus can literally move from location to another on airborne particles or transfer on insects, or as a result of human activities, from one point to another,” he explained.
“If we continue our previous practices and our officials remain confused about the methods necessary to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, and as long as economic issues remain a higher priority than protecting people’s lives, as a result, we will probably witness civil disobedience in regards to personal and public hygiene regulations, this virus will not only not be controlled during the summer season and continue, in fact in the fall we will be witnessing a third and fourth wave sweeping the country, which will be far worse. Refusing to present the true statistics of coronavirus cases and deaths will not resolve anything. Failing to provide true numbers will result in the general public not taking this illness seriously and we will even witness civil disobedience in large portions of our society,” Mahboubfar added.
Inside #Iran’s Criminal Engineering of #Coronavirus Stats pic.twitter.com/FZmTl00bgx
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 19, 2020
It is worth noting that over 42,900 people have died of the novel coronavirus in 319 cities checkered across all of Iran’s 31 provinces, according to reports tallied by the Iranian opposition People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) as of Tuesday afternoon local time, May 19. The official death count declared by the regime is 7,119, less than a sixth of the actual figure.
The death toll in various provinces include: 2,980 in Khuzestan, 2,640 in Mazandaran, 1,645 in Alborz, 1,210 in Lorestan, 1,035 in Fars, 790 in Kurdistan, 505 in North Khorasan, 503 in Zanjan, and 260 in Kohgiluyeh & Boyer Ahmed. This is in addition to reports obtained from other provinces.
