COVID-19: Iran’s reckless response threatens the region
https://arab.news/cxdj6
The first patient of COVID-19 was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, and the country reported the first death caused by the infectious disease on January 11, 2020. Following the aftermath and rapid spread of the virus, the World Health Organization declared public emergency on January 30. Despite the widespread international acceptance of the disease, however, Iran did not begin to acknowledge the coronavirus endemic until March 7.
The spread of a novel and potentially fatal disease poses a grave threat to any country in the world. It requires a subtle combination of swift response and informed campaigns to bring the government and public on the same page. Be it the distrust of the people toward the regime, as evidenced during the 19th century cholera outbreak in Europe and the Ebola outbreak in Africa more recently, or the lapse in timely response by the government, as demonstrated in Iran’s case, either can contribute devastatingly to a rapid spread of an epidemic catastrophe.
In case of COVID-19, the response and reporting by the Iranian government were dubious and evasive. The delay was caused by a severe lapse of judgement in assessing the threat by relevant authorities, though it also owed to the regime’s desperate need to commemorate the revolution’s anniversary on February 11 and ensure a substantial turnout during the parliamentary elections on February 21.
Iran reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19 on February 19 and announced the death of the patient a day later. A week before the development, death toll in China alone, according to the National Health Commission in Beijing, had surpassed the number SARS killed worldwide. By the time the Iranian acknowledgment arrived, the number of global infections had risen to nearly 76,000, claimed the WHO. All of this pointed at the Iranian regime’s inadequate response.
Still it took Iran another two weeks to publicly admit that the situation was officially grim. Nonetheless, its preceding response to COVID-19 resulted in its spread, a process that was also catalyzed by the fact that the Middle Eastern state is also a destination for religious pilgrimage.
Whereas China’s aggressive measures have harnessed the rapid spread of coronavirus, not only are the numbers multiplying in Iran alarmingly but the fatality variant appears to be much higher than elsewhere.
Anum Abbasi
The neglect and recklessness of the Iranian officials is also evident from how quickly the infection stormed through the government itself. Iran’s deputy speaker, Abdul Reza Misri, confirmed that eight percent of the Iranian parliament was infected with the virus.
A number of high ranking Iranian officials, including the Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi, Vice President for Women and Family Affairs Masoumeh Ebtekar, Chairman of Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Affairs Committee Mojtaba Zolnour, and Head of Emergency Medical Services Pirhossein Kolivand, have tested positive.
Reportedly, Ebtekar had met with the president and the senior cabinet a week before her diagnosis, potentially exposing many senior officials to the disease. The death toll has also touched the upper crest, with Iran’s first ambassador to the Vatican, Hadi Khosroshahi, adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Mohammad Mirmohammadi, diplomats Hossein Sheikholeslam, Mohammad Haj Abolghasemi (the Butcher of Tehran), and MP Fatemeh Rahbar, amongst others, died from COVID-19
A denial of ground realities, coupled with a much delayed response, placed Iran 3rd on the list of countries most effected by COVID-19. In a televised conference on March 11, Iran reported 63 new deaths from COVID-19, the highest single-day toll since the country announced the first fatality from the outbreak. Yet, no official quarantine has been imposed as yet.
On March 6, Iran’s ministry of health reported a total of 4,747 cases and 124 deaths, bringing the toll to 2.6 percent. Within 48 hours, the figures peaked to 6,500 confirmed cases and 194 deaths, taking the average to 2.9 percent. Today, the reported cases of total infected is 10,075 with death toll reaching 429, or 4.2 percent.
Whereas China’s aggressive measures have harnessed the rapid spread of coronavirus, not only are the numbers multiplying in Iran alarmingly but the fatality variant appears to be much higher than elsewhere.
Meanwhile, there is also widespread suspicion that Tehran is still misreporting the extent of disease and its overall impact. A parliamentarian from Qom accused the government of covering up facts. BBC Persia reported on February 28 that the number of deaths, tallied from hospitals, was six times higher than what was reported by the government.
The unfortunate case of Iran and coronavirus pandemic is not a case of public distrust or community resistance. It only points at the administrative pathogen that produced false narratives and resulted in gaps between the actual threat and the response level, making Iran a breeding ground for COVID-19 that has come to threaten the world at large and undermined efforts of more responsible states in curbing the deadly outbreak.
– Anum Abbasi is the Director of the Institute of Law and Criminology, Islamabad. She holds an MPhil in Criminology from the University of Cambridge, UK. She writes on international law, politics, and contemporary social issues.
