Four-Story Graves: Significant Increase in COVID-19 Deaths

Under the title "Four-Story Graves in Tehran to Accommodate the Growing Number of COVID-19 Deaths," Emirates Today reported, citing media reports, that the central cemetery "Behesht-e Zahra" in the Iranian capital has constructed four-story graves to accommodate the rising number of deaths resulting from COVID-19 infections. Media outlets published images of the new graves on Thursday, but no comment has yet been issued by the authorities in Tehran or the cemetery management regarding the reports. This is an unusual occurrence in Iran, and it is unclear how people will react to it. Behesht-e Zahra (meaning Paradise of Zahra, referring to Fatimah, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad) received a record number of deaths the day before yesterday. The cemetery manager told the Iranian ILNA agency: "We received 350 deaths, including 150 due to COVID-19. We have not recorded such a high number of deaths in a single day for the past 50 years."