Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned that the country could see a fifth wave of coronavirus infections as the more transmissible Delta variant continues to make inroads into inner regions.
"The Delta strain spread within the southern and southeastern provinces. Their authorities tried to curb it but the strain slipped into other provinces and the situation worsened dramatically," he said.
The president, who spoke at a meeting of the COVID-19 national response committee, said that "the fifth wave may have already begun."
Iran, the worst-hit Middle Eastern nation, announced a fourth wave of the coronavirus in early April. The pandemic has claimed 85,600 lives, despite Iran’s capacity to vaccinate 500,000 people a day.
The French National Medical Academy says the only realistic way to reach herd immunity in the country is obligatory vaccination for all citizens aged 12 and over.
"Concerning the entire population over the age of 12, the obligation to be vaccinated against COVID-19 is the only realistic option in terms of encouraging awareness of personal resopnsibility and solidarity commitment to preserve one's own health as well as that of others, and reaching herd immunity," the academy said Friday in a press release.
The academy cited past situations when obligatory vaccination helped France battle rapidly spreading diseases such as smallpox, tuberculosis, poliomyelitis and diphtheria.
"Promoting compulsory vaccination means understanding the urgency of mobilizing the community in the fight against a new pandemic linked to variants of SARS-CoV-2," the Academy added.
In addition, the Academy highlighted the importance of mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 for healthcare workers. Vaccination against diphtheria, tetanus, poliomyelitis and hepatitis B is already compulsory for healthcare workers, and the government is currently mulling a law that would require all those who work at hospitals and nursing homes to vaccinate against the COVID-19.
Russia recorded 25,082 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing cumulative total to 5,758,300, the federal response centre said Saturday.
Moscow registered the highest number of new cases, amounting to 5,694. The Moscow region had the second highest number with 2,487; St. Petersburg third highest with 1,978.
In the past 24 hours, 752 people diagnosed with COVID-19 died across the country, which brings the cumulative total to 142,253. In the same period, 17,750 people were discharged with full recovery, which brings the cumulative total to 5,182,837.
