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Updated November 15th, 2020 at 20:23 IST

Iran registers 12,500 new COVID-19 cases, reaches grim death milestone of 40,000

Iran shattered the grim death milestone with 40,000 fatalities in the worst outbreak across the Middle East as cemeteries struggled to keep up.

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
Iran
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As of November 14, Iran registered a record number of COVID-19 infections with 12,500 new confirmed positive diagnosis, Health Ministry Spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari confirmed in a statement. The country shattered the grim death milestone with 40,000 fatalities in the worst outbreak across the Middle East. Cemeteries that have been a final resting place for citizens for over half a century, almost 50 years, were now struggling to keep up with coronavirus casualties, according to sources of AP. 

“All of the crises that we have experienced at this cemetery over the past 50 years of its history have lasted for just a few days or a week at most,” said Saeed Khaal, the COVID-19 cemetery Behesht-e-Zahra’s manager.

Never before — not during earthquakes or even the country’s 1980s war with Iraq — has the pace of bodies flowing into Behesht-e-Zahra been so high for so long, AP quoted him as saying.

As coronavirus pandemic raged in Iran with an uncontrollable spike in the transmission during the second wave, as many as 459 fatalities were registered in only the past three days. “We have been in a crisis for 260 days, and it is not clear how many months more we are going to be facing this crisis,” COVID cemetery manager said, indicating the surge in the virus-related deaths. Behesht-e-Zahra is one of the world’s largest cemeteries. 

[A cemetery worker prepares new graves at the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery on the outskirts of the Iranian capital, Tehran, Iran. Credit: AP]

[The cemetery is struggling to keep up with the coronavirus pandemic ravaging Iran, with double the usual number of bodies arriving each day and grave diggers excavating thousands of new plots. AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi]

Read: India Reports Under 50K New Daily COVID-19 Cases Since 8 Days; Active Caseload Contracts Further

Read: COVID: Nearly 160 Tonnes Of Biomedical Waste Generated During Bihar Polls

Overall tally at 762,068

On November 14, Iran’s Health Ministry spokesperson Lari spoke to the nation in a live address streamed by the state broadcaster IRINN, announcing the day’s caseload to be 12,543, with 459 fatalities, an ANI report confirmed. The new cases surged the overall tally to  762,068 and the death toll hit an alarming 41,493.

As the coronavirus outbreak rages across Iran, the Islamic republic is hitting single-day death records over 10 times more compared to last month. Meanwhile, as per the global tally, about half of the country’s total reported fatalities have occurred in Tehran. 

[Mourners pray over the body of a person who died from COVID-19, at the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery on the outskirts of the Iranian capital, Tehran, Iran. Credit: AP]

[A technician sprays disinfectant as mourners pray over the body of a person who died from COVID-19, at the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery on the outskirts of the Iranian capital, Tehran, Iran. Credit: AP]

Read: Health Experts Raise Concerns Over China's New COVID-19 Testing Policy For Travellers

Read: Sri Lanka To Strictly Enforce Virus Regulations: Asia Today

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Published November 15th, 2020 at 20:23 IST

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