Iran says one person dying of COVID-19 every two minutes

Every two seconds one person gets infected and almost every two minutes one person dies from virus, says state TV, adding that most of Iran’s 31 provinces have moved from lower risk orange level to red alert

TEHRAN

One person is now dying from COVID-19 every two minutes in Iran, state TV said on Monday, as the Middle East’s worst-hit nation reported a new record daily toll of 588 fatalities.

With authorities complaining of poor social distancing, state media say hospitals in several cities have run out of beds for new patients.

Some social media users have criticised the clerical establishment over slow vaccinations, with only about 4% of the 83 million population fully inoculated.

Total deaths have reached 94,603, the ministry said, while cases rose by 40,808 in the past 24 hours to 4,199,537 in a fifth wave blamed on the highly transmissible Delta variant.

“Every two seconds one person gets infected in Iran and almost every two minutes one person dies from the coronavirus,” state TV said, adding that most of Iran’s 31 provinces have moved from the lower risk orange level to red alert.

That compares to a reported rate of about one death per three minutes a month ago

Iran’s daily Covid caseload crossed the 40,000 mark on Monday, its health ministry said, marking a new record in infections and deaths for the second day running.