Iran has one of the highest coronavirus infection and death rates in the world, but the ayatollahs are failing to provide medical equipment or even pay the minimum salaries for the medical staff risking their lives to save others.
Not only that but rather than encouraging people to stay home and keep safe, Minoo Mohraz, a member of the National Coronavirus Combat Task Force, has accused the government and the Education Ministry of actually encouraging people back out.
Officials are using the pandemic to ensure it keeps their shaky grasp on power because it is so dangerous for angry citizens to meet in the kind of crowds that signified the November 2019 protests, which links back to why they are not providing even the most basic of equipment or medicines to hospitals. Essentially, the most high-ranking officials are directly responsible for the marked increase in infections and deaths over the past couple of months.
Mohraz said: “We can no longer talk about a first or third wave. Unfortunately, the country is constantly on the Coronavirus wave… The Coronavirus is like a time bomb that can explode at any moment and destroy all infrastructure.”
Nearly 120,000 people have now died from the coronavirus pandemic, including many medical staff, although the government has not provided statistics. Not only has the authorities failed to provide extra support to these everyday heroes, but they’ve failed to even pay their basic salaries. Many have not been paid in months, which has resulted in dire living conditions across the board for healthcare workers.
Even though the supreme leader Ali Khamenei controls an estimated $1 trillion in various charitable institutions that are supposed to help the poor, they have not provided any money for the things seriously needed by the people.
Not even one-third of the €1 Billion promised to the Ministry of Health by the government in March has been distributed, so how can they pay for medicine, equipment, facilities, and salaries?
The crisis is so dire that officials are being forced to acknowledge the dire state of the healthcare system, with the governor of Alborz saying that the endurance of the system is under threat, while Mohraz advises that there are no empty beds and that patients are being treated in hallways and outdoors.
Deputy Health Minister Iraj Haririchi said: “We are ashamed that our health personnel have not been paid their salaries or overtime wages for three or four months. Any staff who have been paid have received less than the minimum wage set by the Ministry of Labor.”
