Second Wave of Covid-19 Infections Hits in Iran
(Bloomberg) --
Iran reported its highest number of daily coronavirus infections in two months, a surge that nears March's peak levels and suggests the Middle Eastern country struck hardest by the disease is in the throes of a second wave.
Authorities reported 3,134 new cases on Wednesday, a 50% increase from a week earlier, according to official government figures. The total number of cases so far is 160,696, including more than 8,000 deaths.
Iran Reports Highest Daily Coronavirus Cases Since April 10
“More serious compliance with physical distancing and more serious and smarter use of masks is an absolute necessity in the days ahead,” Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said in an interview with Iranian state TV news. His warning echoes the alarm expressed by government physicians over the increased number of virus-related hospitalizations in the capital, Tehran.
Iran began relaxing lockdown measures in early April to buoy a virus-battered economy already weakened by sanctions the U.S. refuses to ease in the face of the health crisis. At that time, the total number of cases was 70,029. The outbreak forced Iran to apply for an International Monetary Fund loan for the first time since 1960, triggered a major sell-off of state assets, and led authorities to issue domestic debt.
Iran Set to Reopen Mosques Despite Spike in Coronavirus Cases
A businessman who works in the conference industry said authorities were also to blame for the recent rise in cases.
“The government should provide the infrastructure to educate people on coronavirus and at the same time, people should observe measures more responsibly,” said Ali, giving only his first name because of the sensitivities of speaking to foreign media. “People haven't quite understood the gravity of the matter.”
Nine of Iran's 31 provinces are now considered “red zones” or carry a virus alert warning, Jahanpur said.
They include the border provinces of Khuzestan, in Iran's oil-rich, Arabic-speaking southwest, and Sistan-Baluchestan in the southeast, which borders both Afghanistan and Pakistan and is home to a significant minority Sunni population. Khorasan Razavi province, seat of a revered Shiite shrine, and Iran's West and East Azerbajian provinces, which border Turkey, Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, have also seen cases swell, Jahanpur said.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
-
Signature Play: The Classic Cocktail Is Dead. Or Is It?
Classic cocktails are disappearing from India's cocktail menus. But they're still being ordered, taught to bartenders and borrowed from. So, who's really having the last drink?
-
A New Samvat Wishlist: Inclusive Prosperity And Human Development
India has strengthened its economic foundations through infrastructure, digital access and enterprise. Its next growth chapter must deepen productivity, create better livelihoods and widen participation in prosperity.
-
Love, Sex Aur Dhokha: The Audacious Plot To Spy On Jensen Huang
A Taipei dinner, a Singapore chip buyer and a suspected Chinese asset: inside the alleged spy operation that got close to NVIDIA's Jensen Huang.
-
Ten Things I Learnt This Samvat
Patience can be a trap. Cheap stocks can stay cheap. Leverage can wipe you out. What did Samvat 2082 teach us? Niraj Shah writes on 10 lessons from the year gone by.
-
Talking Points This Week: Tech Nerves, FII Buying, And A Faraway Banking Shock
The global markets are not shining this Diwali. The exception in the large markets is, India.
-
Midterm Rally Lasted A Day. The Hard Reality Of A Divided US May Last Two Years | Opinion
Between a contested AI boom, a debt ceiling that arrives in 2027 and a president with every incentive to act alone, the next two years may prove more volatile than the first day's rally suggests.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
