The Covid-19 situation around the world isn’t improving, so much so that our health ministers said our own situation will worsen.
And in Iran, it’s especially bad.
Before 19 Feb 2020, Iran was one of the rare 0-case countries in the world.
But ever since their first 2 cases on 19 Feb, the Covid-19 cases there exploded out of control.
Abnormally High Casualty Rate in Iran
Previously, we wrote about the unusual case of Iran’s Covid-19 development.
By 23 Feb, just 4 days after they’ve reported their first Covid-19 cases, the number of cases within the country soared to 61.
And it’s not the speed of the increase that’s alarming.
12 people have also died due to the coronavirus which is unusual because researchers who studied the Covid-19 said that the virus is highly infectious but less deadly.
If you were to look at Iran’s numbers, it doesn’t fit with the CFR rate of about 2% (number of people who dies to the disease) that WHO has estimated.
With that, people speculated that the number of undetected Covid-19 cases were actually higher than Iran authorities thought.
Iran was even accused of covering up the cases because of the upcoming parliamentary elections.
And They Were Right
Within the span of 17 days, Iran’s number of Covid-19 cases increased drastically.
By 6 Mar 2020, they have 4,747 Covid-19 cases with 124 reported Covid-19 deaths.
The Covid-19 has spread to all of Iran’s 31 provinces.
They have closed schools and universities, suspended major events and reduced working hours across the whole country.
Even High-Profile People Not Spared
Iran’s Deputy Minister went on national TV to assure Iranians that the Covid-19 situation was under control.
But his appearance didn’t instil much confidence in his countrymen as he looked weak and was coughing constantly.
A day later, he admitted that he was tested positive for Covid-19.
But he isn’t the only high-profile person to be infected.
Six People Who Died To Covid-19 In Iran Were Politicians And Government Officials
Yesterday (6 March 2020), it was reported that Hossein Sheikholeslam, a renowned Iranian diplomat, has succumbed to the virus on 5 Mar 2020.
He is the advisor to Iran’s foreign minister, was an ambassador to Syria and served as a deputy foreign minister before.
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Another high-profile Iranian official that died to Covid-19 is Mohammad Mirmohammadi of the Expediency Council which advises supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In Gilan, one of the Iran provinces hardest hit by the outbreak, an MP, Mohammad Ali Ramezani, and an official at the agriculture ministry, Motjaba Pourkhanali, died to the virus.
Other officials include Ahmad Toyserkani, an adviser to the judiciary chief, Hadi Khosrashahi and Mojtaba Fazeli, a senior cleric’s secretary.
Many More Officials Infected
The Covid-19 seemed to have invaded the Iranian government and it was reported that a “host” of other officials have been infected.
They are currently placed on quarantine.
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Officials include vice-president Masoumeh Ebtekar, the deputy health minister and grand ayatollah Musa Shobairi Zanjani, a position considered as one of the highest religious authorities.
S’pore Has Imposed Travel Restrictions Against Iran
On 3 March 2020, Singapore imposed a ban against people travelling from Italy, the whole of South Korea and Iran.
Iranians need visas to enter Singapore and the Singapore government will stop issuing new visas to them.
Meanwhile, South Koreans and Italians, who don’t require a visa to travel to Singapore, will be blocked by customs officers.
As for people travelling back from these countries, they will be placed on a 14-day Stay-Home-Notice.
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Please don’t break the SHN if you’re issued with one because you have the power to make us the next South Korea or Iran.
With this, people who exhibit symptoms will be treated as Covid-19 cases if they’ve travelled back from these countries:
- China
- South Korea
- Northern Italy
- Iran
- Japan
“Be Prepared For Spike in Cases”
The Singapore government has asked for Singaporeans to be prepared for a drastic increase in Covid-19 cases.
That’s because, they say, even though Singapore might have done its part in containing the spread of diseases within the country, there are “other countries” *coughiranindonesia* who might not be proactively detecting Covid-19 cases of various reasons.
There is a possibility that more import cases might be brought into Singapore, leading to another outbreak.
While it might sound scary, all we need to do is to be socially-responsible:
- See a doctor when you’re unwell and limit contact with others (i.e. don’t do what this Iran health official did)
- Remember what you did so contact tracing is easier
- Wash your hands frequently with soap for at least 20 seconds
And, of course, try to live life as per normal because our economy needs to survive too.
