TEHRAN – The deputy health minister has said that the increasing trend of coronavirus cases in the country will likely continue in the coming days.

“We already expected an increase in cases of illness after the Noruz holidays, and this happened,” Babak Eshrati said, ISNA reported.

“Following the increase in the number of people suffering from the disease, first the number of people admitted to the hospital and then the number of deaths will increase.”

The evidence shows that this increasing trend will most likely continue by the end of the current [Iranian] month (April 20), he explained.

Most of the people that are currently admitted to the hospital are the elderly or those who have an underlying disease or have not received the reminder dose of coronavirus vaccines, he added.

In March, ISNA quoted Ahmad Tabatabaei, a member of the National Headquarters for Coronavirus Control, as saying that the ninth wave of the coronavirus may hit the country as the number of people being infected with the disease is on the rise.

It seems that the COVID-19 wave that happened in Europe is taking place in Iran, he noted.

“Considering the number of patients visiting clinics and hospitals, unfortunately, it seems that we are facing a new wave of coronavirus,” he explained.

It is possible that this increase in cases is the beginning of the ninth wave of the disease, but this matter needs to be confirmed by the relevant laboratories, he added.

“However, compared to a month ago, the increase in the referrals is clearly visible.”

In January, deputy health minister Hossein Farshidi said three new strains of BQ1, XBB, and BA2, have been diagnosed recently in patients, warning that the new wave of the disease may begin.

Over the past 24 hours, 18 people infected with the coronavirus died, increasing the total number of deaths in the country to 145,409, IRNA reported on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, 713 new cases of Covid-19 have been identified in the country.

Moreover, 401 people were hospitalized during the mentioned period.

The total number of Covid-19 patients in the country reached 7,592,968, according to the report.

Fortunately, 7,346,892 patients have recovered so far or been discharged from hospitals, while 737 patients are under special care in hospitals.

Also, 55,919,901 Covid-19 diagnosis tests have been so far performed in the country.

Until now, 65,211,751 people have injected the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, 58,607,093 people have injected the second dose, and 31,677,419 people have injected the third dose and above, and the total number of vaccines injected in the country has reached 155,496,263 doses.

MG