Iran Reports Highest Number of Cases in Over a Month

A woman wearing a protective face mask and gloves walks past the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in Tehran, Iran, on April 2, 2020. WANA News Agency, via REUTERS
A woman wearing a protective face mask and gloves walks past the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in Tehran, Iran, on April 2, 2020. WANA News Agency, via REUTERS
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Iran Reports Highest Number of Cases in Over a Month

A woman wearing a protective face mask and gloves walks past the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in Tehran, Iran, on April 2, 2020. WANA News Agency, via REUTERS
A woman wearing a protective face mask and gloves walks past the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in Tehran, Iran, on April 2, 2020. WANA News Agency, via REUTERS

Iran on Friday reported its highest number of new COVID-19 infections in more than a month as it warned of clusters hitting new regions.

Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 2,102 new cases were confirmed across the country in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall total to 116,635.

That figure is the highest Iran has announced for a single day since April 6.

The country has struggled to contain the coronavirus since its first cases emerged in mid-February.

Jahanpour said the virus had claimed another 48 lives over the same period, raising the overall death toll to 6,902.

The southwestern province of Khuzestan remained "red" -- the top level of Iran's color-coded risk scale.

Several more provinces could be added to that level of alert, he said.

"Other provinces that we may see rising infections in are Lorestan, Sistan and Baluchistan, and East Azerbaijan," Jahanpour said in televised remarks.

The spokesman issued what he called a "warning" to residents of the provinces to observe health protocols.

Lorestan lies in western Iran, East Azerbaijan in the northwest, and Sistan and Baluchistan in the southeast bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Jahanpour had said on Thursday that North Khorasan province in the northeast may also be close to "critical condition."

Khuzestan is the only province so far where authorities have reimposed stringent measures like shutting businesses after a countrywide relaxation in April.



UN: Record 281 Aid Workers Killed in 2024

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has seen more than 200 staff killed since the Gaza war began. Eyad BABA / AFP/File
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has seen more than 200 staff killed since the Gaza war began. Eyad BABA / AFP/File
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UN: Record 281 Aid Workers Killed in 2024

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has seen more than 200 staff killed since the Gaza war began. Eyad BABA / AFP/File
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has seen more than 200 staff killed since the Gaza war began. Eyad BABA / AFP/File

A staggering 281 aid workers have been killed around the world so far this year, making 2024 the deadliest year for humanitarians, the UN aid chief said Friday.
"Humanitarian workers are being killed at an unprecedented rate, their courage and humanity being met with bullets and bombs," said Tom Fletcher, the United Nations' new under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.
With more than a month left to go of 2024, the "grim milestone was reached", he said, after 280 humanitarians were killed across 33 countries during all of 2023.
"This violence is unconscionable and devastating to aid operations," Fletcher said.
Israel's devastating war in Gaza was driving up the numbers, his office said, with 333 aid workers killed there -- most from the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, UNRWA -- since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks, which sparked the war, AFP reported.
"States and parties to conflict must protect humanitarians, uphold international law, prosecute those responsible, and call time on this era of impunity," Fletcher said.
Aid workers were subject to kidnappings, injuries, harassment and arbitrary detention in a range of countries, his office said, including Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, and Ukraine.
The majority of deaths involve local staff working with non-governmental organizations, UN agencies and the Red Cross Red Crescent movement, Fletcher's office said.
"Violence against humanitarian personnel is part of a broader trend of harm to civilians in conflict zones," it warned.
"Last year, more than 33,000 civilian deaths were recorded in 14 armed conflicts -- a staggering 72 per cent increase from 2022."
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution last May in response to the surging violence and threats against aid workers.
The text called for recommendations from the UN chief -- set to be presented at a council meeting next week -- on measures to prevent and respond to such incidents and to increase protection for humanitarian staff and accountability for abuses.