Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani estimated that up to 25 million people in the country have been infected with coronavirus, almost double the official global count.
Despite his estimate, as well as urging citizens to take precautions, the country will no longer impose blockade restrictions.
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Rouhani, speaking in a televised speech on Saturday, referenced a new study by the Iranian Health Ministry that has not been publicly published, and did not cite details on how the estimates were reached in the cases.
The current total of official coronavirus cases stands at more than 14 million, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University.
In this photo posted by the official website of the Iranian Presidency’s office, President Hassan Rouhani adjusts his face mask at a meeting of the national headquarters of the fight against COVID-19, in Tehran, Iran, on Saturday 18 of July 2020 (Office of the Iranian Presidency via AP)
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Rouhani also said he believes an additional 30 to 35 million people could become infected in the coming months. Iran’s population is around 81 million people.
The president also said more than 200,000 people have been hospitalized, and the report predicts that number will soon be “double what we have seen in the past 150 days.”
The same Johns Hopkins count says that 271,606 Iranians have been infected with coronavirus, with 13,979 deaths. The pandemic has also further weakened the country’s severely paralyzed economy, which is already struggling over sanctions imposed by the United States.
Faced with an increase of 2,166 cases on Saturday and 188 deaths in 24 hours, authorities in Tehran have closed some public spaces such as cafes, zoos, amusement parks, boarding schools and indoor pools and have banned religious and cultural gatherings for a week. .
It remains the most affected country in the Middle East.
Iran has faced scrutiny over its reports of coronavirus cases and deaths, which government officials admit are likely to be well below the actual count.
After denying the existence of the virus in Iran for days after the probable first infection occurred, Iran held mass protests and a parliamentary election, resulting in thousands of people en masse.
Two months after the pandemic escalated, parliament released a report in April that estimated the number of people infected at the time was likely “eight to 10 times” greater than the reported numbers, and said health officials lacked evidence. adequate to determine an official forecast. of the virus.
The reported deaths are based only on people who died of COVID-19 in a hospital. Others who may have died at home have not been recorded, and some families have chosen not to disclose that their loved ones ever had the virus to avoid any stigma associated with it.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
