SANANDAJ, Iran — The Iranian Kurdish city of Sanandaj’s main streets is a town of ghosts. Its walls are now covered in a shroud of death announcements — those who have fallen victim to the coronavirus. A peculiar request is added to many of the black announcements plastered across the city; asking for friends and relatives to send their condolences by phone, rather than in person.
A surge in the number of deaths has haunted Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan province in Iran. Two hospitals designed to take in COVID-19 patients have run out of space, with the Iranian government labelling the Kurdish region and some other provinces of the country as “dangerous zones.” Sanandaj’s health authorities are deeply worried a third hospital will soon be inundated if the pandemic is not curbed soon.
Although the number of infections started surging months ago, people appear to have only recently started adhering to the health instructions. A taxi driver who took me to the Besat Hospital, the second largest COVID-19 hospital in Sanandaj, tells me he used to "mock" the disease in the beginning. He only came to grips with the seriousness of the pandemic a month ago, after losing his 47-year-old cousin to the virus. "I now understand how big a catastrophe this pandemic is," the taxi driver told Rudaw English.
As we drove through the town, I noticed markedly less people gathering in public compared to a few weeks ago. Most shops have remained closed for a long while now. Pedestrians walk past them wearing masks, a signal that locals are gravely worried about the deadly pandemic and understand the gravity of the situation, as they constantly hear news of another loved one’s death.
Kurdistan Province has been hit hard by COVID-19, and health workers are feeling exhausted.
"Unfortunately, in the Kurdistan province and in Sanandaj city in particular, we are suffering from the coronavirus crisis. There are 212 patients alone in Tawhid Hospital who are under intensive care," said Dr. Arazoo Falahi, spokeswoman of Kurdistan Medical Sciences University. “The hospital is full,” she told Rudaw English.
Health officials in Sanandaj say the hospital is running out of beds and soon won’t have space for new patients. Now, only one health facility remains, which is Kawsar Hospital, situated in the southern outskirts of the city. For the families of those who have recently fallen ill, it is their only hope.
Health authorities have begun considering contingency plans to set up tents in the city’s public parks open spaces to treat an influx of patients in case of emergency.
As I entered the Besat Hospital, in Sanandaj city center, I noticed a few men wearing masks and gloves. Among them was Kawa Ahmedi. He says his 52-year-old brother, a nurse at the hospital, contracted the virus a week ago and is now placed in the intensive care unit.
The expression on Ahmedi's face tells of the exhaustion of the ordeal. He says he had not slept for days worrying about the deteriorating health of his older brother.
"My brother worked at this hospital for 25 years, and contracted the virus right here," Ahmedi told Rudaw English. "The situation is much more dangerous than the public thinks," he warned. "The wife of one of my brothers has just contracted corona. And today another woman from our family died at Tawhid Hospital."
Ten members of Ahmedi’s family have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Some families have even had their entire extended family test positive. Besat Hospital has a 56-bed capacity and it was not designed to respond to a pandemic. “I hope it is not overwhelmed. If this happens, we will be forced to resort to setting up tents outside to treat patients," Dr. Falahi said.
In addition to Sanandaj, the pandemic has taken its toll on the western city of Mariwan as well, which is located in Iran’s Kurdistan province. "We expect Mariwan to suffer the same fate as Sanandaj. It is facing a dangerous situation," Dr. Falahi warned.
"Unfortunately, the infection number keeps going up these days in the Kurdistan Province, surpassing 200 a day," she said, adding that 270 new cases were identified just in the last 24 hours.
"We have to anticipate a larger calamity if the situation worsens. Unless people take self-protection measures, the virus will not be controlled, even if the public is quarantined for a month," Dr. Falahi added, noting that many cases come as a result of social gatherings, including funerals and weddings.
"Those who do not abide by the health regulations are tampering with the lives of health workers," she said.
Sanandaj is known as the cultural capital of Iranian Kurdistan, with the majority of the festivals taking place in this city. Spring festivities were cancelled this year, however, under lockdown measures, leaving no glimmer of happiness for people at this difficult time.
I left Besat Hospital to venture over to Tawhid Hospital. It was noticeably different from my last visit. The situation appeared significantly more depressing and dangerous, with not a single bed available for more patients seeking treatment there.
As I stepped onto the hospital premises, I noticed two families standing under the shade of the long pine trees in the front courtyard; confused, and crying to each other with a distance between them. Fatih Kuhi, 45, had just lost his 70-year-old father to COVID-19 earlier in the day.
"Ten days ago, my father's health deteriorated after contracting coronavirus. I rushed him to the hospital and today he passed away," Kuhi recounted through sobs.
"In the beginning, he was given some medication, and was sent back home, with the advice that he should stay quarantined. Three days later, his health deteriorated once again and today, he passed away," Kuhi told Rudaw English.
"It is very difficult to lose a father, even if he lives to be 100. My father had no underlying health conditions," he said. "What is more heartbreaking is the way we have to hold a funeral for him. We are a large tribe and it is just my siblings and I who are here."
Bahman Moradina, governor of Kurdistan Province considers coronavirus infections exceeding 5,000 as a "dangerous alarm" because there are also another 67,000 people quarantined inside their houses. The bulk of them are in Sanandaj.
According to the latest data from the Kurdistan Medical Sciences University, the number of the COVID-19 deaths in the province has reached 195, including 50 in Sanandaj.
Translation by Zhelwan Z. Wali
Editing by Shawn Carrié
