MEK Iran: The Regime Knew About Coronavirus But Did Nothing.

More than 50,500 people in 327 cities in all 31 provinces in Iran have died from COVID-19,’the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, according to the latest report from the (PMOI / MEK Iran).

No Effective Management

On Tuesday, Mohammad-Reza Shams-Ardakani, an adviser to the regime’s Minister of Health, acknowledged that the government’s premature decision to lift quarantine restrictions had led to the current wave of coronavirus infections. “The number of identified patients is increasing … People should know that we will be living with the Coronavirus epidemic for the next couple of years … In Iran, we acted quicker than Europe in reopening businesses. We thought the situation was getting normal while it was not … Each Coronavirus test costs about 400,000 tomans for the government … I’m sure if the situation gets worse, the restrictions will be re-imposed, and this should happen,” he said, according to the state-run IRNA.

On Monday, Alireza Mahjoub, a member of the Coronavirus Prevention Committee, sharply criticized the regime’s response to the coronavirus pandemic in a statement quoted by the state-run Rahbord Mo’aser (Contemporary Strategy). “Government mismanagement, lack of supervision, and control… are among the reasons for the rise in the disease in previous enclaves and many clean areas of the country… Giving priority to the people’s livelihood through a collective health policy has brought the country to a point where coronavirus is increasing in the country today. The disease has not been contained, managed, and controlled in the country,” he said.

On Tuesday, a member of the Islamic Council in Bandar Abbas condemned the regime’s mismanagement and inaction during the crisis, emphasizing that officials have chosen instead to blame the people for the rising death toll. In remarks published on the state-run Bakhabar website, he said, “In this critical situation, the condition in the afflicted city of Bandar Abbas is getting worse and worse every hour … Lack of proper management can cause irreparable catastrophes that would seriously endanger the lives of thousands of citizens. Officials have not offered any solution to control the outbreak… Officials are guilty, especially because they blame the people’s negligence as the cause of the explosion in (the death toll). At the same time, no effective action has been taken by the authorities to combat the spread of the disease.”

Cases on the Rise

The regime responded to public outcry over the rising death toll by firing the spokesman for its Minister of Health, Kianoush Jahanpour. The new spokesman did not have better news to report, telling IRNA on Tuesday: “The number of Coronavirus patients in the provinces of Kurdistan, Khuzestan, Hormozgan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Bushehr, and Kermanshah is increasing. In recent days, in general, the number of Coronavirus patients in the country has been on the rise.”

The Governor of Kermanshah Province also had grim news to report. “The number of those infected has an upward trend. There is no clear horizon for this disease. Yesterday, 620 tests were conducted, of which 213 were positive. This calls for an alarming situation in the Province,” he said, according to Hamshahri daily.

The President of the Medical Sciences University in Zanjan Province reported on Tuesday that the virus has re-emerged in two areas where it was previously eradicated. He said, “Coronavirus is on the rise in the Province. Ijroud and Soltaniyeh were virus-free. But now Ijroud is red,” according to IRNA.

On Monday, Golestan Province’s Political and Security Deputy told the state-run Tasnim news agency that quarantine restrictions may need to be reinstated. “In recent days, more people suspected of being infected with the Coronavirus have gone to hospitals… And there is the possibility of the spread of the virus. If the number of infected and those hospitalized goes beyond a certain level, new restrictions and decisions will be put in place immediately,” he said.