In an exclusive interview with the local TV of Khuzestan province on May 31, the health assistant of Ahvaz Medical Sciences University Dr. Mohammad Alavi announced, “The coronavirus cases in the province are very high and beyond our expectations. Since mid-April, the trend of disease infection soared in parallel with the reduction of restrictions.”

Alavi, who is also the head of the health center of Khuzestan province, stated “citizens’ gatherings before the Eid al-Fitr and participation in markets” as other reasons for the spread of the COVID-19 disease.

Alavi next pointed to several problems in diagnosing infected people. “To examine coronavirus symptoms, we should use the private sector’s facilities. A number of laboratories have announced their readiness. However, there is a need for a comprehensive association and cooperation,” he said.

According to reliable reports provided by the Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), Khuzestan province has been ranked as the second province in terms of the coronavirus death toll after Tehran, Iran’s capital. On May 30, the PMOI/MEK stated, “Over 48,000 people have died of the novel coronavirus in 323 cities checkered across all of Iran’s 31 provinces.”

The PMOI/MEK’s statement next declared at least 3,630 people have died of the COVID-19 in Khuzestan province alone. In other words, given the mullahs’ profiteering and criminal policy to resume financial activities and reopen crowded sites like religious, cultural, and sports centers, the country in its entirety experienced the second wave of contagion.

In this respect, on May 30, the regime’s president Hassan Rouhani stepped further and announced, “As of today, mosques will be open across the country while abiding by instructions for daily prayers… Shopping centers that were limited to being open until 6 pm will no longer be under such restrictions.”

On the other hand, officials frequently lay blame on citizens for underestimating the virus. In reality, they pursue to reduce public ire over their horrible mismanagement that has contributed to the loss of many lives. However, the mullahs, in particular the Rouhani administration, are the main responsible for misleading the society about the risk of the illness by lifting preemptive measures and guidelines and refraining from quarantining coronavirus hotspots, particularly the epicenter, Qom city.

Following his explanations, Dr. Alavi spoke about three challenges in containing the virus in Khuzestan. “The simplification of illness by authorities and citizens or considering that the disease has disappeared is the first challenge.

“The second problem is that some people do not have the right assessment of the situation, because if they had thought about this, we would not have faced this difficult situation.

“If people change their behavior, we will be better able to deal with this virus. Training people, testing sick individuals, tracking patients, and creating a culture of using masks are some of the things that are very important in this situation,” he added.

Shortly, all the mentioned challenges highlight the mullahs’ criminal secrecy as the main reason for increasing the coronavirus outbreak among citizens.

Notably, the Iranian regime has yet to announce how and when the coronavirus entered the country. Additionally, the mullahs still downplay the actual number of coronavirus victims. On May 30, the state-run IRNA news agency quoted Mahmoud Reza Moradi, the president of the Medical Sciences University in Kermanshah, as saying, “If the trend continues, we predict that by the end of summer, 46 percent of the province’s population and 47.5 percent of the country’s population will have contracted coronavirus.”

Previously, on April 25, Dr. Younesian, a member of the Tehran Medical Sciences University Scientific Board, had said the real figures are 20 times higher than what is being announced. Also, on May 29, Deputy Health Minister Ghasem Janbabaie announced, “From the beginning of the coronavirus epidemic in Iran, over 10,000 of our medical staff, including physicians and nurses, have contracted COVID-19… We have also lost a number of these dear souls.”

 

Read More:

Maryam Rajavi: Iranians Should Come to the Aid of Khuzestan