TEHRAN – During the third week of the current Iranian calendar month (August 5-12), 454 deaths as a result of the coronavirus were reported across the country.In 24 provinces out of 31 provinces of the country, a decrease in hospitalized patients has been reported, while the number of deaths in 19 provinces is on the rise, ISNA reported.For the time being, 78 cities are in the red zone, 184 cities are in the orange zone, 174 cities are in the yellow zone, and 12 cities are in the blue zone.A new wave of the coronavirus is currently sweeping the country, and the seventh peak of the disease is expected to occur by October.A new wave of the coronavirus is currently sweeping the country, and the seventh peak of the disease is expected to occur by October.Considering that infection with the BA5 variant is milder than other variants, it is expected that the seventh peak of the disease to occur by October with lesser mortality, Hamidreza Jamaati, secretary of the National Scientific Committee of Coronavirus, said on July 22.If preventive measures such as wearing masks and injecting booster doses are adopted, we will not experience the rates of mortality that happened in March with Omicron or last summer with Delta, he added.At present, in Asia and Europe, the incidence of Covid and its mortality is steady and declining, while in some African and American countries, there is a growing trend of omicron variants such as BA4 and BA5, which have not spread in Iran, Jamaati said in May.MG