Coronavirus cases in Iran, until recently the hardest-hit nation in the Middle East, have surged again as the country has eased restrictions.
The number of new daily cases in Iran peaked on March 30, with 3,186, and declined through April to a low of 802 new cases on May 2.
But over the past two weeks, the number of new cases has steadily increased until it topped 2,000 again for the first time on May 15.
On Sunday, the country reported 1,806 new cases. Officials have played down the rise, saying that mortality continues to decrease even as cases pick up again.
However, health ministry officials have admitted the latest rises represent a setback, saying that clusters in some provinces had led to the surge.
“We are in a situation similar to previous days [in most provinces] save for Khuzestan, which is still in a critical condition and it seems that North Khorasan may be critical as well,” health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said last Thursday.
“If this trend continues, North Khorasan will require more serious measures too."
North Khorasan province is in north-east Iran on the border with Turkmenistan. Khuzestan province in the south-west is on the Iraqi border.
Authorities in Khuzestan shut state offices, banks and non-essential businesses again in about a third of its counties.
Iran stopped publishing provincial figures for the coronavirus last month.
Officials in the south-east province of Sistan and Baluchistan, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, have also warned of a new surge in infections.
“We had not seen such an increase in coronavirus infections since” late February, said Ghasem Miri, deputy head of provincial capital Zahedan’s medical university.
Mr Miri said the jump was due to the failure of people to observe “social distancing and health protocols".
Since April 11, Tehran has allowed the phased reopening of the country.
Iran has reported 120,000 cases, just under 7,000 deaths and 94,000 recoveries.
But a health report by Parliament last month said the true toll could be more than double the reported number.
The document highlighted that only those who died in hospital were being counted in official tallies and said the number killed by Covid-19 could be 80 per cent higher than the tally.
It also said that infections could be “eight to 10” times higher than the 76,389 infections given then.
For weeks, Iran tried to bring the numbers down without a mandatory curfew or closing religious sites.
As cases soared and deaths mounted, authorities closed mosques and encouraged people to stay home.
But Tehran reopened religious sites this month against the advice of health experts, and crowds gathered at major pilgrimage spots.
In major cities, people have returned to work and are travelling more, even if face masks are a more common sight on the streets of Tehran today than before the crisis.
The virus was first reported in Iran’s religious city of Qom and officials have repeatedly downplayed the virus.
They called it a US conspiracy and blocked international aid groups from setting up field hospitals even as cases mounted.
As countries around the world considered lockdowns and urged social distancing through February and March, Iran held the 41st anniversary of its revolution and legislative elections.
Weeks later, as Nowruz approached at the end of March, officials did little to limit people from travelling or gathering.
The regime’s handling of the crisis, even as the virus has rippled through the offices of senior politicians, has led to rare public criticism of the government.
“The clergy’s apparent resistance to the state’s virus-control mandates will likely be marked as a point of no return for public mistrust of clerics, and suspicion about their ability to serve as rational authorities in the political or social sphere,” wrote Mehdi Khalaji, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has stepped in to help the country handle the crisis, in a bid to repair its image after admitting to shooting down a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all on board, in January.
The incident came amid the country’s response to the US killing of IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Suleimani on January 3.
Throughout the outbreak, the IRGC has set up clinics, carried out testing and sent fighters to conduct mass disinfection campaigns.
– Additional reporting by agencies
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Porsche Macan T: The Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 265hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,800-4,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Speed: 0-100kph in 6.2sec
Top speed: 232kph
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
On sale: May or June
Price: From Dh259,900
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
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Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
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Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
More on Quran memorisation:
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Keita 5', Firmino 26'
Porto 0
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Where to Find Me by Alba Arikha
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The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
