The list of doctors who died from Covid-19 around it is so long that Sahar, a doctor in Racht, in northern Iran, gets lost in the numbers. "In our hospital, there was an emergency doctor who died, she slips, speaking under a pseudonym, like the other doctors contacted by The world. In other hospitals in the province, there were doctors Mohammad Mohammadi, Vahid Monsef, Reza Koochaknia, plus two nurses, also deceased. Two of the anesthesia specialists at our hospital were intubated. In Anzali city too, there were three intubated doctors. And I certainly forget about it. I don’t know if it’s 24 or 15 deaths in our province. "
At the height of the epidemic in Iran, at the end of February and the beginning of March, not a day went by without the name of a doctor, a nurse, a nursing assistant and a member of staff. a medical center killed by the coronavirus, does not circulate on social networks. The Iranian ministry of health evokes 42 caregivers who died until March 25. Iran’s foreign-based news sites have listed 99 deaths for up to April 4.
"The arrival of the virus was hidden from us"
Officially, the overall death toll in Iran is 4,869 deaths and 77,995 confirmed patients. However, for several days, statements citing much larger figures have been multiplying from other Iranian officials. According to Nahid Khodakarami, a member of the Tehran city council, between 70 and 100 people die every day from Covid-19, only in the capital. The Iranian Parliament research center also released a report on April 14 in which the death toll is estimated to be twice the official figure.
Like other doctors consulted by The world, Reza, working in Tehran and in the southwest of the country, does not believe in official figures. For this young Iranian, if the mortality among medical personnel in Iran due to Covid-19 is higher than elsewhere, it is because "The arrival of the virus was hidden from us. Doctors were unaware that the epidemic was rapidly gaining ground. So they continued, unprotected, to see their patients, sometimes up to a hundred a day. "
Soheil, also a doctor and working in one of the centers dedicated to the treatment of Covid-19 in the capital, testifies to the lack of equipment necessary for the treatment of patients affected by Covid-19. "I buy my protective suit, my mask and my gloves, because the hospital does not have enough supplies. It costs me 225,000 tomans (15 euros) per day, he explains. My monthly salary at the hospital, equivalent to 60 euros per month, does not even cover my expenses for protective equipment. I therefore draw on my savings and what I earn from my personal practice in my practice. "
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