Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, February 23, 2021—Over 220,200 people have died of the novel coronavirus in 486 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, February 23. The official death toll declared by the regime stands at 59,663 around a third of the actual figure.
The coronavirus death toll in various provinces include: 52,461 in Tehran, 14,640 in Razavi Khorasan, 14,200 in Isfahan, 11,300 in Khuzestan, 9297 in Mazandaran, 7881 in Gilan, 6602 in Fars, 5720 in Golestan, 5236 in Sistan & Baluchistan, 5193 in Hamedan, 4418 in Markazi (Central), 3400 in Semnan, 3383 in North Khorasan, 2400 in Zanjan, and 2224 in Bushehr. This is in addition to reports obtained from other provinces.
Infographic-PMOI/MEK reports over 220,200 coronavirus (COVID-19) deaths in Iran
“I am the Minister, and I don’t know who is coming into the country and who is going,” said Health Minister Saied Namaki on Monday. “I’m the at the end of the line, wounded and just rounding up dead bodies. Instead of Health Minister call me director of the morgue. This is a major issue. The virus is aggressive. We are kicking and screaming that we have an epidemic on our hands, why isn't anyone listening? One cannot run a country like this. How much more should one keep on yelling and say I cannot be informed on such short notice that without us being informed a group came into the country, and another left. Why are people born in villages suddenly thinking of going to India, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and …? Why are we suffering from such brain drains? Why are they going and strengthening the genetic banks of other countries? Why aren’t we looking at this national catastrophe?” he continued, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.
“We have a number of UK strain cases in various cities. The government should pursue quarantine measures and abiding by health protocols in all cities. Otherwise, we will witness a fourth peak of this virus,” said a member of Health Committee in the regime’s Majlis (parliament) on Tuesday, according to the state-run Aftabe Yazd daily.
“The city of Ahvaz must be quarantined, and the government should be asked why they have not done so already,” said another member of this committee on Tuesday.
“Any resistance regarding quarantine measures in high-risk cities will result in problems for the entire country. Commuting to high-risk cities will render an epidemic across the country and finally the government will be forced to quarantine the entire country,” a third member of this committee added on Tuesday.
“The number of mutated cases is more than normal cases. The status quo in Tehran province is currently very fragile,” said the deputy chair of Tehran Province Covid-19 Task Force on Tuesday. “The number of people hospitalized in Tehran has risen above 2,000 despite the fact that three weeks ago it had fallen under this number. We are witnessing a leap towards a fourth peak,” this official added, according to the state controlled Jamaran website.
“The number of UK strain cases that passed away in Tehran stands at three. The number of people seeking medical treatment has increased and the number of people hospitalized has increased in the past few weeks,” said Alireza Zali, head of the Tehran Covid-19 Task Force on Monday. “The total number of people seeking medical care reached 40,000 in the past four weeks, while this figure stood at 28,000 in the previous four-week period. The number of people hospitalized has increased significantly between these two time periods,” he added, according to the state controlled Hamshahri daily.
“One after another, hospitals are running out of empty beds, and this is increasingly concerning. Khuzestan officials have suggested a two-week quarantine period to the Covid-19 Task Force, which was turned down in Monday’s session,” according to a Tuesday report wired by the semi-official ISNA news agency. “Despite all this the council of Khuzestan representatives, the governor’s office, and medical sciences universities will continue circling back on this issue with the National Covid-19 Task Force,” the report adds.
“The city of Shadegan has 107 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, indicating the highest number of new cases in the southwest area of Khuzestan province,” said the dean of Abadan Medical Sciences University on Tuesday, according to the regime's official IRNA news agency.
“Sixteen locals in the city of Dehloran have symptoms similar to the UK strain. Their tests have been sent to labs in Tehran,” according to a statement issued by the Ilam Medical Sciences University on Monday.
“The situation in the city of Delfan (western Iran) is extremely concerning. However, our medical supplies and equipment are not adequate to confront this illness. Protective gear for our medical staff, CT scans and ventilators are our most important necessities,” said the mayor of this city in Lorestan province on Tuesday, according to the regime's official IRNA news agency.
Iran coronavirus outbreak death toll interactive map
