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Iran COVID-19 Deaths on Thursday: 221

reporter 1222 — Thu, 09 Jul 2020 11:48:01 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran on Thursday recorded 221 coronavirus deaths, the highest single-day death toll from COVID-19 since the outbreak of the disease.

The Health Ministry’s spokeswoman, Sima Sadat Lari, put the death toll from the coronavirus in Iran at 12,305, saying the disease has taken the lives of 221 patients over the past 24 hours.

She said the number of people tested positive for COVID-19 infection in Iran has risen to 250,458 following the detection of 2,079 new cases since Wednesday noon.

The spokeswoman added that more than 212,000 coronavirus patients have recovered from the disease and left hospitals.

The number of people infected with COVID-19 across the world has surpassed 12.1 million and the death toll has exceeded 552,000.

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Possibility of Restrictions in Tehran

reporter 1222 — Tue, 07 Jul 2020 12:05:18 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – The spokesperson for the Iranian administration said new decisions might be made to tighten restrictions in Tehran as the novel coronavirus is taking more lives.

Speaking at a weekly press conference on Tuesday, Ali Rabiee said the coronavirus pandemic is still the government and the society’s main source of concern.

He noted that the Coronavirus Fight Headquarters in Tehran Province has proposed stricter restrictions to contain the spread of the disease, saying new decisions would be made in this regard.

Rabiee also blamed a rise in the cases of COVID-19 infection and deaths in Iran on not taking the disease seriously and unnecessary presence in public gatherings.

He stressed that wearing face masks by all people would help prevent the spread of the contagious disease by 99 percent, warning that the elderly have not been observing the health protocols as seriously as they used to do in the early days of the outbreak.

Rabiee further highlighted the country’s scientific achievements in the battle with COVID-19 and the growing capabilities of domestic knowledge-based companies, saying the health infrastructures and the number of hospital beds continue to grow amid concerns about a wave of coronavirus and flu in autumn.

Iran’s Health Ministry on Tuesday reported 200 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, the highest single-day toll since the viral disease broke out in February.

At least 207,000 patients have recovered from the coronavirus infection so far or have been discharged from hospitals across Iran.

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Beijing Reports Zero Coronavirus Cases since New Outbreak

reporter 1222 — Tue, 07 Jul 2020 08:29:32 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Beijing on Tuesday reported zero new coronavirus cases for the first time since the emergence of a cluster in the Chinese capital in June that prompted fears of a domestic second wave.

A total of 335 people have been infected since a cluster emerged at the city’s massive Xinfadi wholesale market in early June.

Beijing health commission said on Tuesday it detected only one asymptomatic case the previous day, which China does not include in its confirmed coronavirus cases counts, AFP reported.

While Chinese authorities are still investigating the cause of the latest outbreak, the virus was detected on chopping boards used to handle imported salmon at Xinfadi market, prompting a ban on certain imports and increased scrutiny of foreign food suppliers.

The Beijing government has tested more than 11 million people for COVID-19 since June 11 — roughly half the city’s population, officials said at a press conference Monday.

Residents lined up in the summer heat at testing venues across the city in June, with hundreds of thousands of samples collected each day.

Localized lockdowns across the city have been eased in recent days, with people living in areas of the city considered “low risk” now allowed to travel freely again.

Beijing’s outbreak is “stabilizing and improving,” Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the city’s center for disease control, told reporters Monday.

China had largely brought the deadly outbreak under control before the new Beijing cluster was detected last month.

The government has since also imposed a strict lockdown on nearly half a million people in neighboring Hebei province to contain a fresh cluster there, adopting the same strict measures imposed at the height of the pandemic in the epicenter of Wuhan city earlier this year.

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Iran to Reimpose Wearing Face Mask

reporter 1222 — Mon, 29 Jun 2020 04:21:45 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday wearing mask will become mandatory in certain areas as he allowed virus-hit provinces to reimpose restrictions to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Rouhani said Iran would have to live with the virus for the “long haul”, as he announced the latest measures to combat it.

Mask-wearing would be “obligatory in covered spaces where there are gatherings”, he said during a televised meeting of the anti-virus taskforce.

According to him, the measure would come into force as of next Sunday, continue until July 22, and would be extended if necessary.

Rouhani said the Health Ministry had devised “a clear list” of the types of spaces and gatherings deemed high-risk.

He did not say what the penalty would be for those who fail to observe the measure.

Iran has refrained from enforcing full lockdowns to stop the pandemic’s spread, and the use of masks and protective equipment has been optional in most areas.

According to Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi, services would not be provided to those without masks in areas such as government organizations and shopping malls.

But implementing the measure may be difficult, as according to Tehran’s mayor, many do not wear masks in places like the capital’s public transport network, where it is already mandatory.

“Fifty percent of metro passengers wear masks… and even fewer in buses,” Mayor Pirouz Hanachi said.

“We can’t forcefully confront people without masks,” he added.

The government launched an “#I wear a mask” campaign on Saturday and pleaded with Iranians to observe guidelines aimed at curbing infections.

One Iranian is infected with COVID-19 every 33 seconds and one dies from the disease every 13 minutes, Harirchi said on Saturday.

Zanjan in northwestern Iran has already reimposed restrictive measures for two weeks, its governor said in a televised interview.

It followed a “certain indifference from Zanjan residents and as the number of our (virus) deaths picked up again in recent weeks,” said Alireza Asgari.

The limitations include closing wedding halls and a ban on funeral events held at mosques, as they can lead to large gatherings, he added.

Iran reported its first COVID-19 cases on February 19 and it has since struggled to contain the outbreak.

The Health Ministry on Sunday announced 144 virus deaths in the past 24 hours, the highest for a single day since April 5, raising the total to 10,508.

Spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari also raised total confirmed infections to 222,669, with 2,489 new cases during the same period.

Official figures have shown an upward trajectory in new confirmed cases since early May, when Iran hit a near two-month low in daily recorded infections.

“Considering the rising numbers, I plead with you to definitely use masks outside and in covered places,” Lari said.

Iran closed schools, canceled public events, and banned movement between its 31 provinces in March, but the government progressively lifted restrictions from April to try to reopen its sanctions-hit economy.

The increasing virus caseload has seen some previously unscathed provinces classified as “red” – the highest level on Iran’s color-coded risk scale – with authorities allowing them to reimpose restrictive measures if required.

According to Rouhani, the measure would also be extended to provinces with “red” counties.

“Any county that is red, its provincial (virus) committee can propose reimposing limitations for a week”, which could be extended if needed, he said.

He also is experiencing its toughest year because of US sanctions coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s been the most difficult year due to the enemy’s economic pressure and the pandemic,” Rouhani said.

“The economic pressure that began in 2018 has increased … and today it is the toughest pressure on our dear country.”

US President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018 from Iran’s nuclear deal with major powers and reimposed sanctions

AFP and Reuters contributed to this story.

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India asks for Iranian ventilator to fight COVID-19

reporter 1222 — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 09:57:11 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – India has called for the import of Iranian-made ventilator amid the fight against COVID-19.

Chief Executive of a domestic knowledge-based company, tasked with producing ventilator devices, Ahmad Behfar-Moghaddam made the remarks on Monday and added, “Iranian companies can produce more ventilator devices if the Ministry of Health and Medical Education asks us.”

At the beginning of the outbreak of coronavirus, COVID-19, in the country, Ministry of Health and Medical Education concluded a contract with the company for producing 960 ventilators, he added.

Of total 960 ventilators requested, 100 other ventilators have remained to be manufactured for delivery, he said, adding, “the remaining ventilators will be delivered before termination of the current week.” Behfar-Moghaddam emphasized.

The company is able to produce 30 ventilators daily, he said, adding, “when we concluded a contract with the Ministry of Health, we could export 50 percent of our products.”

If all ventilators ordered to the company are delivered, “we can export 100% of our products abroad.”

In response to a question on increasing the production volume of ventilator devices due to the growing trend of coronavirus infections in the country, he said, “we can increase the production of ventilator if the Ministry of Health asks us to do so.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, he pointed to the applicant countries for Iranian-made ventilators and added, “Oman, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, UK, etc. are of the countries that they have requested us for exporting ventilators. Even, India is one of the chief customers. However, talks are underway with the Indian side to export ventilators to this Asian country.”

Turning to the raw materials needed for manufacturing this ventilator, he said, “a great portion of raw materials needed for manufacturing ventilator is provided in the country.”

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Coronavirus Situation in Beijing ‘Extremely Severe’

reporter 1222 — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 07:32:13 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – The coronavirus situation in China’s capital is “extremely severe”, a city official warned Tuesday, as 27 new infections were reported from Beijing where a new cluster has sparked a huge trace-and-test program.

The COVID-19 resurgence — believed to have started at the sprawling Xinfadi wholesale food market in the capital — has sparked alarm as China had largely brought its outbreak under control through mass testing and lockdowns imposed earlier in the year.

The new cases took the number of confirmed infections in Beijing over the past five days to 106, as authorities locked down almost 30 communities in the city and tested tens of thousands of people.

“The epidemic situation in the capital is extremely severe,” Beijing city spokesman Xu Hejian warned at a press conference, AFP reported.

The World Health Organization had already expressed concern about the cluster, pointing to Beijing’s size and connectivity.

Officials in the capital have said they will test stall owners and managers at all of the city’s food markets, restaurants and government canteens.

Beijing’s coronavirus testing capacity has been expanded to 90,000 a day, according to China’s official news agency Xinhua.

On Tuesday, the capital’s transport commission banned taxi- and ride-hailing services from driving out of the city in another move to try and contain the new outbreak.

All indoor sports and entertainment venues in Beijing were ordered to shut on Monday, and some other cities across China warned they would quarantine those arriving from the capital.

The National Health Commission also reported four new domestic infections in Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing, and a case reported in southwestern Sichuan province was linked to the Beijing cluster.

Authorities were also racing to track people from Beijing who had traveled to other parts of China, and those who visited the capital have been encouraged to get tested.

Beijing spokesman Xu said: “High-risk people who have left Beijing must inform local authorities immediately.”

Authorities shut down another market on Tuesday — Tiantaohonglian in the central Xicheng district — after one employee there was diagnosed with COVID-19, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Seven residential estates surrounding that market were also locked down.

In total, Beijing officials said Tuesday they have disinfected 276 agricultural markets, closed 11 markets, and disinfected more than 33,000 food and beverage businesses in a bid to stamp out the new cluster.

Officials had warned Sunday that since May 30, 200,000 people had visited the Xinfadi market — the original site of the new outbreak.

More than 8,000 workers from Xinfadi have been tested and sent to centralized quarantine facilities.

Until this recent outbreak, most of China’s cases in recent months were nationals returning home as the pandemic spread to other countries.

China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday that the virus strain found in the Beijing outbreak was a “major epidemic strain in the European countries”.

While the virus was detected on chopping boards used to handle imported salmon at Xinfadi, “it does not clearly or definitely indicate it’s from imported seafood”, Wu Zunyou, the body’s chief epidemiologist, said in an interview with state broadcaster CCTV.

“Ever since new cases suddenly emerged in Beijing, we have tried to figure out the reasons for the outbreak since there were no COVID-19 cases found over the past two months,” Wu Zunyou said.

“We came up with several possibilities, and the most likely one is that the carrier of the novel coronavirus comes from outside China or other parts of China and brought it here.”

On Tuesday, another eight imported cases were reported.

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COVID-19 takes 8,950 lives in Iran

reporter 1222 — Mon, 15 Jun 2020 10:41:58 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Some 113 more Iranians died of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours and 150,590 people out of a total of 189,876 infected with the coronavirus have survived and recovered, according to Health Ministry.

Speaking at a daily press conference on Monday, Health Ministry Spokesperson Sima Lari said that 2,449 new infected cases have been detected since yesterday, increasing the total number of infections in Iran to 189,876.

Over the last 24 hours, 113 people died due to the deadly virus, bringing the total death toll to 8,950, she added.

Lari noted that 2,765 cases are in critical condition while 150,590 patients suffering from the novel coronavirus have recovered and been discharged from hospitals so far.

So far, 1,269,164 tests have been taken across the country to detect infected cases, she said.

According to the latest reports on Monday, the number of people around the world infected by the novel coronavirus has risen to 7,995,480, of whom 435,593 have lost their lives, and 4,110,060 have recovered.

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New York City Reopening after Three Months of Lockdown

reporter 1222 — Mon, 08 Jun 2020 11:46:15 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Exactly 100 days since its first case of the coronavirus was confirmed, New York City, which weathered extensive hardship as an epicenter of the worldwide outbreak, is set to take the first tentative steps towards reopening its doors on Monday.

Getting here took the sacrifice of millions of New Yorkers who learned to live radically different lives. More than 205,000 have been infected, and nearly 22,000 have died.

As many as 400,000 workers could begin returning to construction jobs, manufacturing sites, and retail stores in the city’s first phase of reopening- a surge of normalcy that seemed almost inconceivable several weeks ago.

State and city officials said they were optimistic that the city would begin to spring back to life. Testing is robust and growing, reaching 33,000 people on a recent day. And new infections are now down to around 500 a day – half as many as there were just a few weeks ago, the New York Times reported.

“You want to talk about a turnaround – this one, my friends, is going to go in the history books,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday.

New York City, like nine other regions in the state, was required to meet seven health-related metrics before beginning reopening. New York City was the last part of the state to do so.

The road back will undoubtedly be challenging. More than 885,000 jobs vanished during the outbreak, and strong gains are not expected for the city until 2022. The city budget hemorrhaged tax revenue and now faces a US$9 billion (S$13 billion) shortfall over the next year.

And the reopening has been complicated by the vast protests for racial justice that have forced government officials and business owners to unexpectedly adjust their plans.

Hundreds of stores were burgled by looters and police officers enforced a nightly curfew.

“We were planning to make a lot of noise saying, ‘Hey, we’re back’,” said Ken Giddon, a co-owner with his brother of Rothmans, a small clothing chain with a flagship near Union Square. “Now we don’t think that would be appropriate.”

In areas hit hard by looters in high-end retail neighborhoods of Manhattan, some stores were not planning to open on Monday.

On Sunday morning, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he was lifting the 8 pm curfew a day early because the city had been relatively calm on Saturday. The curfew had been scheduled to expire at 5 am on Monday.

Even before the protests, some public health officials were privately fretting that infections could increase as people returned to work and commuters began to take the subway again.

But the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it did not believe that rush hour would meaningfully return on Monday – or any time soon.

One person briefed on the authority’s planning said officials there expected the trains to be at well below 50 per cent capacity at least through Labor Day – a calculation based on the idea that many office workers would continue to work remotely into the fall.

Many business leaders, particularly those in office-based jobs like technology and finance, are watching the transit system for signs that it is safe.

The authority has embarked on large-scale cleanings and required riders to wear masks but said social distancing may not be possible if subways and buses carry anywhere close to their normal loads.

The city has yet to offer alternatives for how to move millions of commuters around. City Hall said on Friday it was working with the MTA to expand bus service.

As many as 32,000 construction sites could open as of Monday, according to the city, the biggest part of the initial phase of reopening.

Gary LaBarbera, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, whose group represents unions for more than 100,000 workers, said his focus was on making sure workers would be safe when they return, with masks and other protective equipment available and construction sites reconfigured to allow distancing, health checks, and hand-washing.

Some businesses are taking it slowly and carefully.

Only about one-third of textile workers in the city are expected to be back at work Monday, said Edgar Romney, the secretary-treasurer of their union, Workers United/Service Employees International Union.

But many, particularly in midtown Manhattan, have remained closed, he said.

For retailers, the picture is even more complex. Just opening the doors does not guarantee that customers will return.

Business groups said many retailers were waiting for the next phase to venture out – when outdoor dining is allowed, office workers are permitted to return, and shoppers are able to enter and browse around all types of stores, local business groups said.

The earliest that could begin would be late June, based on state mandates that each phase last at least two weeks. But de Blasio said on Thursday that he did not anticipate the city moving into the next phase until early July.

“Businesses can be ready, but are the consumers ready?” asked Thomas Grech, president of the Queens Chamber of Commerce.

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Coronavirus Immunity Could Last Six Months

reporter 1222 — Sat, 23 May 2020 09:17:37 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – People may only be immune to coronavirus for six months, a study said, raising questions over whether ‘immunity passports’ could be a route out of lockdown.

Researchers from the University of Amsterdam tested 10 men for four coronaviruses regularly over the course of 35 years.

The four coronaviruses cause the common cold and research said there was ‘an alarmingly short duration of protective immunity to coronavirus’, Times reported.

They said that after 12 months, people were frequently reinfected with the virus, and after six months the levels of antibodies substantially reduced.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced at the Downing Street briefing on Thursday that the Government has signed a contract for 10 million antibody testing kits.

He stressed the science of how people develop immunity and how long it lasts was still emerging.

He confirmed that ministers are already looking at a ‘system of certification’ that would signify people who are safe to go back to work and mix freely with others.

The University of Amsterdam researchers said that antibody tests to estimate how many people had been infected would become of limited use.

It comes as Oxford University began recruiting for large-scale trials for their coronavirus vaccine.

The study suggests people may have to get the jab annually to be immune to the bug.

The study has not yet been peer-reviewed and did not include women.

Professor Lia van der Hoek, one of the researchers involved in the study told The Times: ‘Herd immunity is an issue, even with vaccination, as it may be that people can get an infection again within six to 12 months. It is, however, uncertain what kind of disease is associated with reinfection by Sars-CoV-2, that is of course a big uncertainty.’

A virologist at Reading University Ian Jones added that other research suggests longer-lasting immunity as some only cause a mild disease which might not trigger great immunity.

He added that if the protection was partial it would be hard to score.

Hancock said: ‘We’re developing this critical science to know the impact of a positive antibody test and to develop the systems of certification to ensure people who have positive antibodies can be given assurances of what they can safely do.’

He added: ‘We’re not yet in a position to say that those who test positive in these antibody tests are immune from coronavirus.

‘But as our understanding of the disease improves, the insight these antibody tests provide will be crucial.’

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COVID-19 Outbreak Started before Wuhan?

reporter 1222 — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 10:18:07 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – The COVID-19 may have first passed to humans somewhere in southern China months before the outbreak in the city of Wuhan, a new study found.

Mapping a “network” of coronavirus genomes and tracing mutations over time, a team of researchers led by Cambridge University determined the first COVID-19 outbreak may have come as early as September in a region south of Wuhan, noting the pathogen could’ve been carried by humans well before it mutated into a more lethal form, RT reported.

“The virus may have mutated into its final ‘human-efficient’ form months ago, but stayed inside a bat or other animal or even human for several months without infecting other individuals,” said Cambridge geneticist Peter Forster, who took part in the ongoing yet to be peer-reviewed research, recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.

Then, it started infecting and spreading among humans between September 13 and December 7, generating the network we present in (the study).

Though the virus is thought to have transmitted from bats to another host animal – pangolins are a popular candidate – and finally to humans, the new findings could overturn prevailing ideas as to precisely how, when and where it made the interspecies leap. Initial theories posited the jump to humans took place at a wet market in Wuhan, but the Cambridge study has called that into question, suggesting COVID-19 might have originated south of the central-Chinese city.

The original spread started more likely in southern China than in Wuhan, he said.

Any solid conclusions, however, could only be made after analyzing more bats and other potential host animals, as well as tissue samples in Chinese hospitals, Forster cautioned.

As questions swirl about the origins of the pandemic, a number of controversial theories have gained prominence recently, with several major US media outlets running stories this week suggesting the virus may have escaped a maximum-security virology lab in Wuhan.

Though US President Donald Trump has yet to endorse the claim outright, he said the White House is currently looking into the idea, all the while blaming Beijing for the global health crisis. Trump has repeatedly accused the country of a “cover-up” in the early stages of its outbreak, insisting the World Health Organization conspired to help Chinese officials conceal information.

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