Coronavirus: growing number of cases, Iran panics

Text by: Sara Saidi Follow

The number of coronavirus victims in Iran continues to increase. This Tuesday, February 25, 3 new deaths were recorded and the Deputy Minister of Health confirmed that he was himself infected with the virus. The population worries, denounces the lack of anticipation and the mismanagement of a government which they no longer trust.

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Faced with the sudden increase in the number of cases of coronavirus in Iran, the authorities decided this weekend to cancel any cultural gathering, conferences and congresses in the country. Iranian league games have also been postponed and health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour has announced that universities and institutes in fourteen provinces will be closed until the end of the week. Measures which, for the Iranians, arrive much too late: “ Will the concealment of the coronavirus in Iran be the Chernobyl of the Islamic Republic? We will know in the coming days. "Tweeted not without irony a user on February 21.

Many people wonder about the government's lack of anticipation: " Why did the Ministry of Health not anticipate the spread of the coronavirus by equipping the country with specialized laboratories?" “, Writes this Iranian. Others refer to the lie that followed the crash of the Boeing 737 of Ukraine International Airlines , shot down by the Guardians of the Revolution in January: “ The novelty is to let people die and then say: eh! We just figured it out! “, Indignant a surfer. Finally, a doctor affirms on Twitter that the first cases of coronavirus appeared several weeks ago: " It is important that you all know that the coronavirus made victims three weeks ago already in Iran, but we did not have than thirty test kits. We bought some from Germany, but due to the sanctions, they did not reach us. It was only after the death of a war veteran whose brother was a doctor that we used the first kit (…), ”she explains.

Tehran quarantined if number of cases increases

On Monday, faced with the increase in the number of cases, several countries closed their borders with Iran, in particular Turkey. " If Iran had quarantined the city of Qom, there would have been no need to close the borders, " said Fahrettin Koca, Turkish Minister of Health.

Indeed, located 150 km southwest of Tehran, Qom is the epicenter of the disease . However, here, only one hospital is in quarantine. Iranians don't understand lax authorities: " Why haven't flights from China been stopped?" Why did you notify late? Why didn't you quarantine Qom? Asks one of them. “ The stores in Qom are almost all closed, the bazaar is very quiet, people have quarantined themselves at home. I had never seen the city so empty, ”describes a user. Amir Abadi, deputy of the city, acknowledged that the nurses do not have the necessary equipment. He also asked that the city be quarantined. Finally, he claims that the virus would have killed 50 people in the holy city alone. A report denied by the Minister of Health who speaks of 16 dead and 61 cases in total.

In Tehran, the president of the municipal council, Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani announced that the capital will be quarantined if the number of victims increases. Meanwhile, the fear is palpable: " If I had to describe in one word the atmosphere of Tehran, this frightened city, half extinct, full of masked faces, I would say" apocalypse " ", says an Iranian.

The population also faces a shortage of protective masks. " Mahan's flights to China continued for national interests and we sent 2 million masks! Now we have the coronavirus, no mask and we are on the FATF blacklist . Isn't that a bit much ? Exclaims a member of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce.

On the black market, the price of masks has increased significantly in recent days. Saturday, February 22, the Tejarat news site indicated that their price is about 39 times higher than the real price. Tehran police also confiscated an illegal stock of 500,000 masks from a house in eastern Tehran, according to the Tasnim agency. To make up for this lack of protection, the Iranians broadcast numerous educational videos on the networks to learn how to make their own masks. " I sew a mask for my father, he is outside all day, it worries me, " wrote an Iranian woman.

A maneuver to explain the low turnout in the elections

Finally, for part of the population, the late revelation of the regime was a maneuver to explain the low turnout in the legislative elections on February 21. The supreme guide has indeed denounced on its official website media propaganda from abroad aimed at " discouraging the Iranians from going to vote ". According to official figures, turnout reached 42.5%, the lowest since the advent of the Islamic Republic. An Iranian is thus indignant at an information from state television: " Really? The report explains that the concern about the coronavirus is the reason why some will not vote! It really means that they (the government) don't want to understand! (…) ”, He writes. " Who exactly did not go to vote because of the coronavirus ?" Don't they want to understand that they no longer have legitimacy with people? Says another.

► To (re) read: Legislative in Iran: low participation and conservative tidal wave

Faced with adversity, the Iranians do not lose their humor, however, as in this Instagram video, where three men greet each other with their feet, or this tweet: " To fight against the coronavirus, eat garlic. It will have no effect on the disease ! But keep others from approaching you ! “Quips the internet user.

See this post on Instagram

هدیه به شما روش جدید پیشگیری از گسترش ویروس کرونا عمرا به عقل چینی ها قد بدهد

A publication shared by Habib Ahmadzadeh (@habib_ahmadzadeh) on Feb 22. 2020 at 9:12 PST

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