The Unruffled City
Press TV (2020)
Film Review
This video is clearly a feel good propaganda film about Iran’s response to it’s first wave Covid outbreak in February 2020. The brutal sanctions regime by the US and its allies has made it difficult for their doctors their to obtain respirators, lab and personal protective equipment and some drugs.
I found it remarkable how resilient and self-sufficient the country has become after more than a decade of sanctions. Both their hospitals and mosques are staffed by paid and volunteer sewing brigades to make reusable protective masks and coveralls for doctors and nurses.
In addition, Iran’s Covid’s specialists seemed less inclined to put their critically ill Covid patients on respirators (perhaps because they don’t have as many?). This may explain their good recovery rate (60-70%) of hospitalized Covid patients – compared to US Covid patients.*
The film strongly emphasizes the role mosques played in scrupulously fumigating (pwith toxic chemicals?) both hospitals and homes of Covid victims. This was a year before the WHO and CDC advised Covid isn’t transmitted by contact with objects or surfaces (see https://nypost.com/2021/04/05/low-risk-of-catching-covid-from-surfaces-new-cdc-guidelines/).
According to the Western media, in 2020 Iran had the worst overall Covid infection and fatality of any Middle East country.
Hopefully this may change now that they have authorized the use of Ivermectin to treat Covid (see https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/ivermectin-being-approved-as-drug-treat-covid-19-in-more-countries-including-mexico,-brazil,-iran,-india-while-south-africa-reverses-its-ban).
This followed a randomized controlled multicentr Ivermection trial they completed in November:
Owing to their difficulty they experience importing Covid vaccine under sanction, they have also developed their own Covid vaccine: see https://english.alarabiya.net/coronavirus/2021/06/14/Iran-gives-emergency-approval-for-locally-made-COVID-19-blessing-vaccine
The Most Revolutionary Act 