Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, May 18, 2020—Over 42,600 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 Monday afternoon local time, May 18. The official death count declared by the regime is 7,057, less than a sixth of the actual figure.
The death toll in various provinces include: 6,970 in Tehran, 2,915 in Khuzestan, 1,630 in Alborz, 1,195 in Hamedan, 1,190 in Lorestan, 760 in Kurdistan and 473 in Kerman. This is in addition to reports obtained from other provinces. From late February to May 5, at least 180 coronavirus patients have lost their lives in Moftah Hospital alone in Varamin, located southeast of the Iranian capital Tehran.
Over 42,600 dead of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Iran
Kianush Jahanpour, spokesperson of the regime’s Health Ministry, reported 69 new deaths and 2,294 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. This is the highest number of new cases in one day across Iran during the past 45 days. “Khuzestan Province continues to have 25 percent of all the new cases… The provinces of Lorestan, North Khorasan, the southern areas of Kerman, the southern areas of Sistan & Baluchistan, and Kermanshah are all in critical conditions… There are no expectations for the illness to be eliminated in Iran any time soon,” he said according to a Monday report wired by the regime’s official IRNA news agency.
Based on the Health Ministry’s figures, “the total number of COVID-19 cases in Khuzestan has reached around 7,000 while these numbers stood at around 2,000 in this province just two weeks ago,” according to a piece published on Monday in the state-run Vatan-e Emruz daily.
Arman, a state-run newspaper, wrote today, “According to official reports, the rising trend of the coronavirus in eight provinces (Lorestan, Markazi, North Khorasan, Kurdistan, Khuzestan, Gilan, Hormozgan, and Charmahal & Bakhtiary) is more worrying than ever. In terms of new cases, Eastern Azerbaijan is nearing critical state, and officials have warned that in the next days, we should expect a second peak in the province. The dean of the Medical Sciences University of Bushehr said that in recent days, the number of coronavirus cases in this province has been increasing.”
Anoushirvan Mohseni-Bandpei, the governor of Tehran province, said, “We’re still saying that Tehran is the focal point of the contamination. Even if every place in the country is potentially contaminated, this province has a different situation due to its characteristics and the high density of the population. If on average, 50 people live in every square kilometer, in Tehran, this number reaches 1,000 persons per kilometer, and up to 10,000 people in the Baharestan county.”
Ahvaz, southwest #Iran
Hospital waste is transferred to this site to be recycled.
Workers are told to separate the plastics, placing them at grave risk of #coronavirus.
Reports indicate the plastics are recycled to be sold again.pic.twitter.com/F07mSW1Kn7— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 18, 2020
While regime president Hassan Rouhani claims to export masks and medical equipment abroad, the state-run Salamat News quoted Dr. Massoud Mardani, a member of the Coroanvirus Task Force, as saying, “We are still facing problems in procuring medicine, protective gear and ICU beds. We shouldn’t jump out of the frying pan into the fire.”
Mardani added, “It seems that we must move toward more strict quarantine conditions. The current situation is in no way pleasing.”
Iran coronavirus outbreak death toll interactive map
