Inside An Iranian Hospital Struggling To Cope With COVID-19

A nurse tends to a patient at Shohadaye Tajrish Hospital in the capital, Tehran.

Hospital workers move the bodies of two patients who died from COVID-19.

Some Iranian officials have admitted actual virus numbers are likely higher than official figures.

Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi warned that the death rate will likely increase for at least the coming two weeks.

Iranian officials say a variant of the virus devastating India is spreading in the country, after a highly transmissible variant first found in Britain led to a spike in infections.

The spread of the virus has been exacerbated by disregard of health measures, family gatherings, and the Persian New Year holiday in March.

On April 10, Iran began a partial lockdown in Tehran and other major cities to stem a fourth wave of infections across the country of 84 million people.

Iran's vaccine campaign started in early February but has been sluggish, with only some 824,000 shots administered as of April 27.

A bouquet of roses and a heart-shaped balloon decorate the bed of a man who died of COVID-19.

A hospital worker moves the body of a patient who died from COVID-19 in the morgue of Shohadaye Tajrish Hospital.

Cemetery workers use cinder blocks to build rows of new graves at the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery on the outskirts of the Iranian capital.

The body of a man who died from COVID-19 is prepared for burial at the cemetery.

A cemetery worker moves the body of a person who died from COVID-19 for a funeral.

Mourners pray over the body of a loved one who died from COVID-19 at the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery.