Coronavirus outbreak and travel ban to Khuzestan, Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan
Many cities in Khuzestan province are in a red zone. Entry and exit to the province has been banned. A similar situation prevails in tourist and pilgrimage cities. There is also talk of banning travel to several other provinces.
The number of people infected with COVID-19 has increased by 8,206 in the 24 hours ending on February 25. This brings the number of people infected with the coronavirus in Iran based on definitive diagnostic criteria to at least 1,607,000.
Officials in the Islamic Republic have announced that the number of coronavirus victims in Iran in the past 24 hours has reached 94. According to Iranian government statistics published by the Ministry of Health, nearly 60,000 people (59,830) have died in Iran from COVID-19 so far.
The Ministry of Health has announced that about 10 million people in Iran have been tested for coronavirus so far.
Critical situation in four Iranian provinces
Many cities in Khuzestan province are in red status. The Ministry of Health has declared some of these cities as Abadan, Ahvaz, Bandar Mahshahr, Khorramshahr, Dezful, and Shushtar.
Although the Ministry of Health has declared the situation in 11 cities red and 31 cities orange, Taimur Hosseini, deputy head of the Naja traffic police, has announced a ban on travel to four provinces and seven tourist and pilgrimage cities.
Hosseini said that "travel to and from Khuzestan province is completely restricted, and it is not possible to travel to or from Khuzestan."
In addition, travel to the northern provinces of Iran (Guilan, Mazandaran, and Golestan) has also been banned. The reason for the travel restrictions to Khuzestan and the aforementioned provinces has been announced as "coronavirus hotspots."
Deputy Traffic Police Chief Naja also said that travel to the cities of Mashhad, Shiraz, Isfahan, Bushehr, Bandar Abbas, Kish, and Qeshm is also prohibited.
In an interview with a reporter from Iran's student news agency ISNA, Hosseini said that these restrictions will continue until further notice. He did not announce an exact date for the lifting of these restrictions.
In addition, it is said that traffic restrictions in cities with red and orange status are still valid, and "night traffic from 9:00 PM to 3:00 AM is still in place in all cities in the country."
The deputy traffic police chief has warned drivers that violating regulations will be punished and unauthorized vehicles will be fined.
It should be noted that with the approaching Nowruz holidays, officials are concerned about people traveling to tourist and recreational destinations.
Source: DW
