Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, January 17, 2021—Over 203,000 people have died of the novel coronavirus in 478 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 Sunday afternoon local time, January 17. The official death toll declared by the regime stands at 56,803 around a third of the actual figure.
The coronavirus death toll in various provinces include: 49,446 in Tehran, 12,775 in Isfahan, 8213 in Lorestan, 8017 in Mazandaran, 7895 in Qom, 7488 in West Azerbaijan, 7186 in Gilan, 4901 in Sistan & Baluchistan, 4783 in Hamedan, 3687 in Yazd, 4173 in Markazi (Central), 2155 in Zanjan, 2101 in Ilam, and 2044 in Bushehr. This is in addition to reports obtained from other provinces.
Infographic-PMOI/MEK reports over 203,000 coronavirus (COVID-19) deaths in Iran
“There will be no general vaccination effort prior to June 10,” said the Science Secretary of the regime’s National Covid-19 Task Force on Sunday, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.
“For now, the number of tests carried out are not enough for us to reach any specific conclusion regarding the impact [of the Iranian vaccine],” said Minoo Mohraz, a member of the National Covid-19 Task Force on Sunday. “We have a difficult winter ahead of us and we need to be careful because there will be future waves,” she added, according to the regime's official IRNA news agency.
In the city of Qom, the ruling mullahs kept religious sites open and continued to hold ceremonies despite specific opposition from the regime’s own experts. This led to many people losing their lives to Covid-19. “During the past few days, the number of people seeking medical care with coronavirus symptoms has increased and this is an alarm bell for the province,” said the head of the regime’s Medical Apparatus Organization on Saturday. “This increase has raised concerns that the Covid-19 spread is intensifying,” the official added, according to the Javan daily, an outlet linked to the regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).
Dean of the Qom Medical Sciences University specifically said if gatherings and ceremonies continue in this province, they will take measures to prevent such events. “I will personally be taking action and asking the public to please refrain from holding ceremonies and gatherings,” the dean said on Sunday. “The fourth Covid-19 wave is far more dangerous and strongly mutated, and can impose severe damage to our society,” the official added.
On Saturday, Alireza Raisi, spokesperson of the regime’s National Covid-19 Task Force, voiced a similar warning in this regard. “In Qom we will most definitely witness a new peak. No protocols have been respected, neither in mass prayers nor other gatherings. Those who plan such events are literally responsible for the death of people in the next wave and they must be punished,” he added, according to the state controlled Hamshahri daily.
#Iran Coronavirus Update
More than 203,000 people have died of the novel #coronavirus in 478 cities checkered across all of Iran's 31 provinces, according to the Iranian opposition PMOI/MEK.
Full Reporthttps://t.co/ZjjgY8vJAl pic.twitter.com/55kuw6jbhu
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) January 17, 2021
“[Mazandaran] province remains on a trend of increasing Covid-19 cases and in the past few weeks we have not seen a stoppage in the number of coronavirus cases,” said the dean of Mazandaran Medical Sciences University on Saturday. “Ten cities of this province are registered as red zones and 12 others are considered orange zones,” the official added. “To control coronavirus in urban areas there needs to be quarantine measures in these areas,” the dean concluded, according to the regime's official IRNA news agency.
“The reopening schools these days have become the highest of concerns for the families and medical personnel regarding a new chain reaction to spread coronavirus,” said the dean of Qazvin Medical Sciences University on Sunday, according to the IRGC-Quds Force linked Tasnim news agency.
“We are reaching the timing to reopen schools when coronavirus continues to spread and many areas across the country are in critical conditions,” according to a Sunday report wired by the Mizan news agency, an outlet linked to the regime’s judiciary. “Concerns over participating in today’s event for the families who have to send their children to school have redoubled… This concern has reached a point where social media has become the medium where parents are expressing these concerns and some are even requesting the schools to be closed once again,” the report adds.
Iran coronavirus outbreak death toll interactive map
