Doctor dies as coronavirus wreaks havoc in Iran

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Another young doctor died in Iran on Monday as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread across the country, overwhelming the health sector.

Vahid Monsef of Gilan Medical Sciences University died in the hospital where he worked after contracting the virus. 

He had spent weeks trying to save infected patients as they flooded onto his poorly equipped ward. 

READ MORE: Hit hard by coronavirus, Iran’s doctors struggle to cope 

Gilan is among Iran’s worst hit provinces. Medical practitioners and politicians have begged the government to put the region on lockdown to prevent a further spread. 

Monsef is only the latest medical professional struck down by the illness. Narjes Khanalizadeh, a 25-year-old nurse from the same province, died just days after Iran first confirmed the outbreak on February 19. 

Doctors and nurses have complained of a serious shortage of masks, disinfectants, and testing kits. 

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), a respected watchdog, published a video on Sunday of a middle aged man struggling to breathe on the ground outside a Gilan hospital reserved for coronavirus patients. 

According to a narrator off camera, the man had not been admitted to Rasollah hospital in Rasht because there are no more beds available. 

As of Monday, at least 237 people have died and 7,161 have been infected across Iran, including senior officials and some close to the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.  

Farzad Tazari, a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) official, died on Monday after contracting the virus. 

Another top official working for the state social welfare agency also died on Monday.  

The government was slow to respond to the magnitude of the crisis. Since an explosion in the number of cases, authorities have imposed a raft of measures. 

Judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi announced the temporary release of 70,000 prisoners from Iran’s jails to prevent the prison system becoming an incubator for the illness. 

“The release of prisoners will continue as long as it does not cause insecurity with priority going to those with other illnesses,” Raisi said.

However, the feeling among many observers is the government’s measures are too little, too late.

Mohammad Hossein Qurbani, a representative of the health ministry, said Sunday that 200 people have died after contracting coronavirus in Gilan province alone. 

Some Persian-language news outlets outside Iran have say the real death toll could be as high as 500. 

Widespread panic and misinformation has already led to tragedy. At least 27 people died and more than 200 people were poisoned after consuming methanol, believing it would ward off coronavirus. 

The Iranian army and IRGC have been mobilized to spray streets and religious sites with disinfectant. 

Calls are growing for authorities to lock down public places and entire cities if necessary – a measure now put in place by Italian authorities to help contain Europe’s worst outbreak. 

Iranian officials have so far resisted the measure, claiming the method is outdated and has no impact.

The outbreak and the government’s clumsy response have already sparked civil unrest. Videos have emerged on social media of people in several towns attacking cars carrying number plates from Qom, where the outbreak began.

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