Lack of vaccines, increase in contamination: the Covid-19 epidemic is worsening in Iran

Iranian nurse about to inject Covid-19 vaccine in Tehran.

March 15, 2021. AFP - ATTA KENARE

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

The number of dead and infected has almost doubled in the past month in Iran.

A direct effect of the Iranian New Year holidays where millions of people have moved across the country, carrying the British strain with them.

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With our correspondent in Tehran,

Siavosh Ghazi

In a few days, half of Iran's cities have turned red or orange due to New Year's travel. The British strain has spread like wildfire across the provinces and the death toll is high. rise.

“ 

We had on average 15, 20 or 25 dead before.

All of a sudden, that number went up.

Two days ago, we had 58 deaths, which is very worrying

 ”, testified Saïd Kal, the person in charge of the large cemetery of Tehran, on state television.

One of the main reasons for the sudden rise is that the government did not ban domestic travel during the Nowruz holidays and millions of Iranians have traveled across the country.

Likewise, the number of people who do not respect the instructions for physical distancing or wearing a mask has increased significantly.

Lack of vaccines

Sepideh, an Iranian woman in her forties, does not hide her concern.

“ 

I went to the hospital to take the results of my father who had Covid recently.

And in the hospital, the situation was really catastrophic.

There were so many people coming to be tested for the coronavirus

.

"

The country is in dire need of vaccines.

Just under two million doses have arrived in the country.

Several companies have also started tests to produce vaccines, either with the help of Cuba and Russia or in Iran itself, but it will take several months before we reach mass production.

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 See also: In Iran, vaccination against Covid-19 is long overdue

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• Iran

• Coronavirus