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Space Medicine

Iran's Coronavirus Burial Pits Are So Vast They're Visible From Space (washingtonpost.com) 256

Posted by BeauHD from the sad-state-of-affairs dept.
"Iranian authorities began digging a pair of trenches for victims just days after the government disclosed the initial outbreak," writes Slashdot reader schwit1. "Together, their lengths are that of a football field." The Washington Post reports: Two days after Iran declared its first cases of the novel coronavirus -- in what would become one of the largest outbreaks of the illness outside of China -- evidence of unusual activity appeared at a cemetery near where the infections emerged. At the Behesht-e Masoumeh complex in Qom, about 80 miles south of Tehran, the excavation of a new section of the graveyard began as early as Feb. 21, satellite images show, and then rapidly expanded as the virus spread. By the end of the month, two large trenches -- their lengths totaling 100 yards -- were visible at the site from space (Warning: source may be paywalled; alternative source). According to expert analysis, video testimony and official statements, the graves were dug to accommodate the rising number of virus victims in Qom.

A senior imagery analyst at Maxar Technologies in Colorado said the size of the trenches and the speed with which they were excavated together mark a clear departure from past burial practices involving individual and family plots at the site. In addition to satellite imagery, videos posted on social media from the cemetery show the extended rows of graves at Behesht-e Masoumeh and say they are meant for coronavirus victims. The imagery analyst, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of his work, also pointed to an image showing what appears to be a large white pile of lime, which can be used to manage decay and odor in mass graves. Iranian health officials have in recent weeks confirmed the use of lime when burying coronavirus victims.
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Iran's Coronavirus Burial Pits Are So Vast They're Visible From Space More

Iran's Coronavirus Burial Pits Are So Vast They're Visible From Space

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  • Clickbait (Score:3, Interesting)

    by moonracer ( 5224207 ) on Friday March 13, 2020 @08:10AM (#59825752)
    To be fair, the burial site was built back in October of last year so it could still be seen from space even without COVID-19.

  • Oh for fuck's sake (Score:5, Insightful)

    by wiredog ( 43288 ) on Friday March 13, 2020 @08:12AM (#59825754) Journal

    Commercial imaging satellites have a ground resolution of 24 cm or so. You can see the lines in a football field "from space" using commercial imagery.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Aereus ( 1042228 )

      I was going to say, the term "from space" doesn't mean much with today's imaging technology. Anything you can make out on Google Maps satellite view is "from space" obviously.

    • Came in to say this. Was glad to see it so soon in the discussion. Clickbait is not necessary for for most /. ers as we ALREADY came here to read something. We like facts and details, leave the drama for others.

    • I'm going to reverse your statement. These aren't "from space". They aren't from space because you can't see space in them.

      I think we can all agree that if an image has the edge of the earth, distant stars (contrast be damned), and ground objects, then those ground objects are "visible from space".

      In this case, the printed-poster would need to be about 10'000km wide before you could see both the cemetery and the edge of the planet.

      "from space" describes the viewer's experience, not the camera's location.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by diodeus ( 96408 )

      Yes, clueless, lazy journalism.

  • The official numbers from Iran way wrong (Score:5, Informative)

    by msevior ( 145103 ) on Friday March 13, 2020 @08:14AM (#59825760)

    Here is a great analysis of the true impact in Iran.

    https://www.theatlantic.com/id... [theatlantic.com]

    Here is more evidence. Over 50% of people returning to Bahrain from Iran have covid-19

    https://english.alarabiya.net/... [alarabiya.net]

    Iran is close to the worse case scenario for country's that don't slow the spread.

  • Propaganda (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Doub ( 784854 ) on Friday March 13, 2020 @08:41AM (#59825832)
    More than 1300 people die in Iran on average every day. Adding a hundred a day from the virus would not be noticeable in burial processes. This is pure political propaganda.

    • 1300 people don't all die in the same city. Iran is a big place. Also the article notes that the area is being dug, not that it is packed to the brim with bodies.

    • Re:Propaganda (Score:4, Interesting)

      by ljw1004 ( 764174 ) on Friday March 13, 2020 @10:02AM (#59826104)

      More than 1300 people die in Iran on average every day. Adding a hundred a day from the virus would not be noticeable in burial processes. This is pure political propaganda.

      Iran has 83 million people. We expect 20%-70% of population in western democracies to get coronavirus this year, and there's no reason to think that Iran will be different, so let's say 40 million people in Iran get it. The mortality rate is 0.5% in countries which have managed to slow the peak and have capacity in their healthcare systems, 3-4% where the healthcare system is stretched thin. That works out at about 1.5 million Iranian deaths this year due to Coronavirus...

      4000 deaths per day

      Of course it won't be spread over a whole year. It'll be concentrated. The UK predicts 50% of all cases to arise in just a 3-week window. That suggests more like 40,000 deaths in Iran per day at peak.

      • Your numbers are a highly unlikely worst case scenario. Those rates of infection are for routine illnesses that kill a good number of people, but nobody cares about them so no precautions are taken. Once you factor in the precautions being taken (even given they are lower or less effective in Iran), it will lower those infection and casualty numbers.
  • But what if this was the great plague predicted in the bible. Just what if?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gtall ( 79522 )

      All the Bible predictions will come true, you simply have to wait awhile and sift through the bogus ones...such as Jesus coming back before that current generation went tits up. Admittedly, some of the more fanciful predictions might take a bit of time, and maybe they happen on a different planet, and maybe they are recoded to have become true, and maybe....this is a fool's game. Maybe you could lead a prayer seance with Pence, yes?

      I await Evangelicals boldly proclaiming their faith will save them and to pr

    • I'd say that the Bible concentrates on totally the wrong problems. This is peanuts compared to the plague and even the Spanish Flu a century ago.

      • This is peanuts compared to the plague and even the Spanish Flu a century ago.

        But a lot of people are allergic to peanuts these days.

      • The Spanish Flu would be peanuts next to the Spanish Flu with the science we have now. Viruses had only recently been discovered -- in tobacco plants. Nobody even knew that's what flu is, much less had any kind of comprehensive surveillance system

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by DavenH ( 1065780 )
      A book of enough random characters "predicts" everything and anything. Doesn't make it of any value.

    • But what if this was the great plague predicted in the bible. Just what if?

      Why wouldn't it be Ebola?

  • All the countries sharing shisha tubes all day long will be hit hard.

  • Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Friday March 13, 2020 @09:26AM (#59825982)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • A few long rows in a cemetary. That's not 'vast'.
    And these days you can read newspaper headlines from space with the right equipment.

  • Wouldn't cremation make more sense? Is it prohibited by Islam?

    • Cremation is strictly forbidden in Islam. That is why the US buried Osama bin Laden at sea, which is allowed, instead of cremating him.

  • With mortality rate of 1 or 2%, there must be now, at least a million people with immunity/resistance. Need to draft them as volunteers and care givers. If we can develop covid19 anti body tests, we can identify such people.

    • With mortality rate of 1 or 2%, there must be now, at least a million people with immunity/resistance.

      The immune response is very weak and repeat infections can cause a cytokine storm and sudden death, probably thought ACE-2 binding affinity in cardiac and nephritic tissues.

      The 1918 Bird Flu had similar characteristics. It was a 24-week event.

  • The WP is paywalled and the alternative article just shows a grave site with some weird head poster (yep even disabled 1 adblocker to check). Don't mention a picture if we don't get to see one.

    Thank you - the clickbait police.

  • The US is making Iran's problem much worse with the needless sanctions we have on that country. I understand that Trump feels the need to undo any good that the Obama Administration did, but dropping a bunch of new sanctions on a country that should be our natural ally is just stupid, and in the case of the corona virus, counterproductive.

    Viruses don't respect borders.

  • Iranian virus hotspots suspicious (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Dan East ( 318230 ) on Friday March 13, 2020 @10:35AM (#59826240) Journal

    A work colleague in the UK's wife is Iranian. She has extensive family in Iran, which they are able to communicate candidly with using various modern channels. There is a strong feeling in Iran that the spread of coronavirus in that country was due to a targeted "seeding" of the virus. Before you wonder if my tin foil hat is on too tight, there is certainly some evidence that raises questions.

    One of the main pieces of evidence is that it is not Iranian's largest cities or transportation hubs that are the epicenters, but a few specific religious centers and sects. These just happen to be the true sources of power in the country, and the religious foundation behind Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. These are primarily elder men in protected religious enclaves that are very restricted. So it is indeed interesting how the infection took such a fast and powerful hold in these specific places, and not at the cities with airports and the like where travelers are concentrated. There are reports that it has decimated the elder religious leaders, killing a large percentage of them.

    Another curiosity is simply "why Iran?", and why so fast. There are many other countries with vastly more travelers to and from China, that do not have very robust healthcare systems, that have not seen anywhere near Iran's level of infections. So again, perhaps purely coincidental, but it is curious.

    The adviser to the Supreme Leader has been confirmed to have been killed by the coronavirus, and I was told that the Supreme Leader himself has not made an appearance (online or otherwise) in quite a while, so there is speculation he may be dead.

    You may see some major political upheaval in Iran soon, perhaps the overthrow of the religious-based government, which is something that the majority of the population have been wanting and publicly protesting in recent months.

    • Re:Iranian virus hotspots suspicious (Score:5, Insightful)

      by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Friday March 13, 2020 @01:27PM (#59827018)

      Let me help you with this:

      there is certainly some evidence that raises questions.

      All great conspiracies start with raising wild questions that are easily explained through other more likely methods. Let's go through it:

      it is not Iranian's largest cities or transportation hubs that are the epicenters, but a few specific religious centers and sects.

      For deeply religious states that is not a surprise at all. transport hubs spread around large areas with varying patronage, religious centers concentrate the same people over and over again to say nothing of the strong physical contact religious centres promote. The more elder religious leaders are the more common contact with others are. Viruses love this shit.

      There is a strong feeling in Iran that the spread of coronavirus in that country was due to a targeted "seeding" of the virus.

      Iran is a country so distrustful of its leaders that they don't even believe their medical chief actually contracted the virus despite him sweating and coughing all over the press conference. You can take any "strong feeling" in Iran about official stories with as much of a grain of salt as you can the government info itself.

      and not at the cities with airports and the like where travelers are concentrated.

      Airports are very transient places that people do not hang around in. Cities with large airports haven't been effected proportional to traffic volume anywhere in the world. Hell the countries with the 3 largest airports in Europe currently have very limited cases. A better example of how disease spreads would be to look at Germany, the areas with the largest airports are mostly unaffected. The capital cities are mostly unaffected. However hotspots in the shitty Ruhr area have developed. Rough areas, crappy attitude to healthcare, decent population density, people who stick around to spread it to others, that's what causes an area to become a hotspot.

      There are reports that it has decimated the elder religious leaders, killing a large percentage of them.

      This will kill religious elders the world over. Old people who try to pray away their problems.

      Another curiosity is simply "why Iran?", and why so fast. There are many other countries with vastly more travelers to and from China, that do not have very robust healthcare systems, that have not seen anywhere near Iran's level of infections.

      Viruses discriminate. 100% of people who come in contact don't get infected. It requires a mixture of a lot of variables to become infected. The end result is literally the luck of the draw. The ability for something to spread then depends entirely on how a country or culture responds. Poor healthcare, poor hygiene. Italy is under lockdown, Austria has had only a single death. They share a completely open border. That doesn't point to some nefarious reason that Italy has had the outbreak.

      The adviser to the Supreme Leader has been confirmed to have been killed by the coronavirus, and I was told that the Supreme Leader himself has not made an appearance (online or otherwise) in quite a while, so there is speculation he may be dead.

      That means nothing. Trudeau's wife is a confirmed case, expect Trudeau to catch it too. It's making the rounds in the Australian cabinet. The Romanian cabinet is in lockdown. Brazil's president is infected. Even the UK's health minister is infected. These leaders come in contact with a lot of people. Expect them to have the most problems.

      You may see some major political upheaval in Iran soon

      I agree, but I don't think this has anything at all to do with COVID-19.

  • No one actually believes this bullshit, do they? Obvious fake news.

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