Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, April 5, 2020—More than 18,600 people have died in 242 cities 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 Sunday afternoon local time, April 5. The regime has only acknowledged 3,603 COVID-19 deaths, less than a fifth of the real figures.
The number of victims in various provinces include: 2,350 in Tehran, 1,900 in Qom, 1,450 in Khorasan Razavi, 700 in Alborz, 580 in Kermanshah, 530 in Hamedan, 390 in West Azerbaijan, 320 in Kerman, 290 in Semnan, 240 in East Azerbaijan, and 70 in Chahar Mahal & Bakhtiari.
Over 18,600 dead of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Iran
These statistics are reported one by one, city by city and province by province by eyewitnesses, Resistance Units, reporters of the “Iran National Television” satellite TV network, MEK supporters and sympathizers of the Iranian resistance, and thoroughly investigated and collected by the PMOI Social Department. Naturally, the death toll does not include the entire country and the actual stats covering all of Iran, including all cities, towns and villages, are much higher.
The regime Health Ministry dedicates its daily report of victims only to those individuals who die in hospitals and had tested positive for COVID-19. This report neglects the large number of people dying outside of hospitals, and especially in villages, and the colossal number of people who have not been tested. The cause of demise stated in death certificates issued for many coronavirus victims are severe respiratory illness. Horrific reports from the city of Qom, central Iran, indicate that thousands of people have died of COVID-19. These reports are under investigation.
On Saturday, the Health Ministry spokesperson Kianush Jahanpour said the provinces of East Azerbaijan, Fars, Mazandaran, Isfahan and Khorasan Razavi are considered under “red status.” Today he said Tehran is also considered a “red status” province. “There are no white status provinces,” Jahanpour explained.
Mahmoud Nouri, head of the Yazd Medical Science University, said on Saturday that the number of chronic patients has been rising in recent days. “Ninety-seven individuals are in ICU,” he said. The spokesperson of the Tabriz Medical Science University said 90 members of the East Azerbaijan Province medical staff are infected with COVID-19.
Despite all this, Iranian regime President Hassan Rouhani said, “We have white status provinces in the southern sectors of the country that have no problem for the education system. The provinces of Bushehr, Hormozgan, and Sistan & Baluchistan… can begin their activities.” Rouhani specifically said lower-risk stores and economic activities can relaunch on Saturday, April 11. “We will be using a step-by-step process to relaunch our activities” and “administrative facilities will begin their work next week with two thirds of the staff returning to work and one third being permitted to not return,” he added.
However, in the past few days the regime’s Health Minister, Medical Apparatus Organization and many officials have warned about a relaunch of administrative work and economic activities. On Saturday, the deputy dean of Alborz Medical Sciences University said if people return to their ordinary lives for economic reasons “the illness will erupt, and hospitals will be full of patients. We will lose control and will not be able to manage the situation,” he said, adding “one million people will die.”
The Civil Registry Office, which is under the supervision of the Interior Ministry, has declared that its cooperation with the health ministry and the delivery of information to the staff of this ministry has been suspended until further notice because the registration of personal information in the screening website was unprofessional and incorrect.” The Civil Registry further said that the health ministry has not remained true to its agreement with the Civil Registry. This is further evidence of the regime’s efforts to hide information about the death toll of the coronavirus outbreak.
Despite all this, Rouhani said, “There is no disagreement between government bodies. Contrary to the enemies, who are trying to force the people to choose between health and the economy, both economic activities and health protocols can be carried out in parallel… there is no disagreement between the health ministry, the ministry of commerce, and other ministries.
Rouhani once again revealed his frustration about the revelations made by the Iranian resistance and said, “Some devil finds something in some corner and gives it to foreign media and they make a big deal out of it.”
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), reiterated that the spread of coronavirus across Iran once again proves “the incapability, decadence and fundamental weakness of the religious tyranny.”
The #Coronavirus crisis, which has spread in #Iran more than any other country in the region, proved the incapability, decadence and fundamental weakness of the religious tyranny. #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/gy3qaW664e
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) April 5, 2020
A state-run news website acknowledged that the regime has been hoarding medicine and keeping it exclusively for its own officials. “How come officials have contracted coronavirus and been treated? Does this show that there is some kind of cure?” Setareh Sobh website wrote. “Dr. Hashemian from Masih Daneshvari Hospital said that there are some drugs that have had positive results in China, Japan, and South Korea. But the prescription of this drug is prevented in Iran… When officials are recovering, why shouldn’t others? This brings to mind that there is some kind of discrimination.”
Nurses in Mashhad protest to lack of standard supplies and equipment
Other news pertains that healthcare workers are fed up with the lack of support from the regime. A group of nurses in Emam Reza Hospital, one of the main medical facilities of Mashhad, held a rally protesting the use of non-standard masks and equipment. The protesting nurses said that despite the fast spread of COVID-19, they have not been provided with any protective gear.
The protesters say that the number of nurses who have contracted coronavirus is rising because of the negligence of authorities and lack of access to standard health masks.
Iran coronavirus outbreak death toll interactive map
