That’s a huge jump in the daily caseload compared to yesterday when the Health Ministry recorded 3,503 cases of Covid infections in the previous 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the daily death tally on Sunday was 28, which pushed the total fatalities from Covid in Iran to 132,230.
The jump in the Covid caseload is blamed on the new variant of the disease, namely Omicron, which is way more contagious than previous strains.
A member of Iran’s National Taskforce for Fighting Coronavirus has warned again of a new wave of the disease driven by Omicron.
Dr. Minoo Mohraz urged people and officials against underestimating the strain. Latest figures show that the first Omicron case was detected in Iran over a month ago but now the variant is spreading like wildfire across the country.
Some observers are pinning the blame for this on negligence on the part of the government, though it has been urging people to observe the health protocols and the vaccination campaign continues unabated nationwide.
Meanwhile the Iranian deputy health minister has expressed concern over the upward trend in Omicron cases in Iran.
Saeed Karimi told the IRIB that there has been a rise in the number of Covid outpatients at 16-hour healthcare centers.
Karimi put the number of outpatients at 5,000. He noted that the Omicron outpatients were not in critical condition but warned that if protocols are not observed, a hike in hospitalizations is a possibility.
Karimi noted that there are chances Iran will get hit by a sixth wave of Covid, stressing things are not copacetic though they are not dire either.
The Iranian deputy health minister also said given Omicron is super contagious, a new peak of Covid is highly likely in Iran.
