Corona Storm in Iran, What can be Done?
Covid-19 disease, although it kills all over the world, but in our country, it takes the lives of Iranians on a larger scale. The resulting mortality rate during most of October was about 200 people per day, in the last week of October it exceeded 300 people per day and in the last week it even reached close to 500 people per day. According to the statistics published by the Ministry of Health, since the beginning of the outbreak, 32,320 people have died from this deadly virus. However, the real number of casualties is much higher than this, and according to some government officials, it has exceeded 100,000 people. According to the head of the Organization of the Medical System, Iran has long been one of the top five countries in the world in terms of Corona mortality, which is clear that based on real figures, it can be worse. The Deputy Minister of Health has stated that the death rate among Corona patients in Iran is 18%, which is more than three times the global average of 5%, and compared to countries whose casualties do not exceed 2 to 3%, it cannot be given another name other than a shameful disaster. Describing the real situation, the same official said in a television program that the country is not facing the second wave of Corona, but the "Storm of Corona". This means that in these "dark days of Corona in Iran", we should expect wave after wave. Deeply regretting the scale of the deaths, we express our deepest sympathy to the tens of thousands of families of the Corona victims.
To understand the dimensions of this catastrophe, it will be suffice to mention two comparative cases. If on the 2nd of November in Iran only 8,289 cases have been identified, of which 3,023 have been hospitalized and 440 have died, in Germany with a population approximately equal to that of Iran, during the critical day of the 24th of October, up to 14,700 people were infected, of which less than 50 died. According to the official report of the Ministry of Health, at present, which requires at least 200,000 tests per day in Iran, only about 25,000 tests are performed daily. But in Turkey, as well as in Germany, both of which have almost the same population as Iran, 130,000 and 200,000 tests are performed daily, respectively. The shocking point of this fact is that if, according to the World Health Organization, only 5% of patients are hospitalized, this figure is 40% in Iran. Explaining this situation, the head of the country's medical system says: "Late diagnosis of the Corona patients, failure to track people in contact with patients, overcrowding of hospitals, lack of beds and staff and lack of national determination to comply with protocols" are the most important factors in spreading this pandemic. All of these are confirmed facts, without, of course, naming the Islamic Republic as the main culprit of this situation.
In addition to what the health official has said, one can and should add the bitter reality of the US government's extensive sanctions, which undoubtedly puts the financial resources needed to meet the huge costs of the Corona under pressure and does not allow minimum medical needs to be easily imported from abroad and provided to the medical staff as well. The US government's claims that the "maximum sanctions" policy does not include the needs of the Corona are baseless and false. The main issue in this regard is banking transactions in exchange for necessary purchases, which is itself facing the wall of sanctions. The pressure of extensive US sanctions is directly and above all on the working people of our country, and therefore opposition to sanctions is necessary to fight the deadly plague of Corona. We should also mention the behavior of a handful of bloodsucker capitalists who, in the conditions of death and life of a nation, are trying to fill their wide bags at the cost of people's blood with hoarding and high prices. As the responsibility of any regime for such catastrophes must be tested in the ability to manage, mobilize and prioritize country's resources and facilities, the main responsibility for this terrible situation lies with the regime of the Islamic Republic. This regime has failed in all of these tests and, in the presence of the Corona storm once again, has openly displayed its failure of governance.
Delays in making necessary decisions, hesitation in advancing them, confusion in crisis management and not using all means to control the disease, fear of using government authority to force society to comply with Corona regulations, which is due to the deep gap between society and the regime on the one hand and mismanagement in allocation of economic requirements and partly the cultural weakness in some parts of the society on the other hand, are the characteristics of this regime confrontation with the corona. If in these circumstances, Corona is one of the political characteristics in the whole world, increasing the level of focus in decision-making and strengthening government authority, especially in order to enforce government regulations, but we see the most turmoil in decision-making centers in the Islamic Republic. More importantly, at this challenging time, adopting a special economic policy to meet the living needs of the lower classes and strata does not have any place in the regime’s prioritization. For the Islamic Republic, what matters is not the protection of the lives of the people of the country, but the provision of military, law enforcement, security and destructive foreign policy requirements.
This government has not even been able to implement the simplest requests and instructions of its own Ministry of Health and the Organization of the Medical System of the country to compel social distance, use masks and prevent avoidable travel, and any gathering, including religious gatherings. The result, however, has been not only the death of tens of thousands of people, but also the death of more than two hundred of our dedicated medical and nursing staff. The regime, with complete irresponsibly has put the burden of this deadly plague on the shoulders of dedicated medical and nursing staff who, despite suffering a lot from the lack of facilities, most of them continue to serve in the stronghold of the fight against Corona with complete self-sacrifice; Sacrifice that will never be forgotten. The infection of more than 36,000 nurses with the Corona virus is neither forgettable nor forgivable.
There was no sign of necessary and timely quarantine during this nine-month of Corona period. On the contrary, the regime began its behavior with dangerous rallies on the occasion of revolution anniversary and holding of parliamentary elections, continued with ceremonies such as Ramadan, Ashura and Arbaeen, and more recently, showed its irresponsibility once again by announcing the allegiance ceremony with Imam Zaman in Mashhad and the necessity of showing “the Aban 13th” (Anniversary of US Embassy Takeover in Tehran) in several places in the country by the Islamic Propaganda Organization. On the other hand, the share of the masses in this dark period has been enduring inflation and declining incomes. The knife has reached the bone where we are witnessing the most tragic news possible: the suicide of a 12-year-old child and a 16-year-old teenager due to the pain of deprivation.
With all the dark record of the regime in carrying out its duties against Corona, the people, however, have the right to ask the regime that control all the resources of the country, to take the minimum measures. At the forefront of these requests, and the most urgent of them, is the establishment of a task force in the government, with sufficient authority to take preventive and executive decisions, as well as the commitment of the entire government to fully comply with any guidelines and orders issued by this task force. This task force has to consider itself obliged to take advantage of the recommendations of medical professionals. These include quarantining wherever necessary and banning any gathering, even at limited-member level, and in particular preventing religious communities that the government's centers of influence insist on holding. In order to implement its special Corona economic policy, the government must be persuaded to allocate sufficient funds for fighting against Corona. To compensate for the twofold pressure on the society and especially lower classes due to the outbreak of this virus, it is necessary to significantly reduce the military and security budgets and to cut the privileges paid from the national income to the parasitic institutions of this regime.
Spiritual and material appreciation of the medical staff of the country on the one hand and mobilization of final year students of medical and nursing universities through special education along with financial incentives for their participation in the campaign against Corona should be among the duties of the government. This can reduce the pressure on medical professionals. The allocation of a wide range of military personnel and the recruitment of people on duty under the supervision of the army medical staff and in connection with the aforementioned task force is an urgent necessity in the fight against Corona. At the same time, the Islamic Republic has a duty to urgently request and accept the cooperation of all countries of the world in the fight against Corona.
In the meantime, grassroots organizations and charities, whose existence has so far been so valuable in enlightening and educating the people and providing them with livelihoods, despite government restrictions, can play a much greater role. Aside from the fact that the government is obliged to strictly implement the necessary health protocols, it is the NGO’s and charities that can play an irreplaceable role by persistently inviting the people and persuade them to stay at home, use masks, avoid travel and gatherings, wash hands regularly and use detergents regularly to disinfect the environment. Undoubtedly, civil society organizations and relief groups, which are numerous in the society, have the opportunity to be actively involved. In this regard, knowledgeable workers, teachers, students, activists of anti-discrimination movements, especially women rights fighters, as well as well-known people and personalities in the intellectual, cultural and sports fields can play an important role.
The Left Party of Iran (People’s Fadaian) bases its proposition to overcome this Corona storm on this belief and knows that: At the moment, there is no higher priority than confronting Corona and nothing should replace fighting against it.
Political-Executive Board of the Left Party of Iran (People’s Fadaian)
November 7, 2020
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