Ministry of Health denies two-week closure announcement; Tehran Governor opposes capital's quarantine
While conflicting reports have been circulating about the Iranian Ministry of Health's request for an immediate two-week lockdown of the entire country and denials of this request, the governor of Tehran says that the issue of a two-week quarantine for the province is "ruled out."
On Wednesday, April 8, Anoushirvan Mohseni Bandpay said at a meeting of the Tehran Provincial Administrative Council that "it is definitely not possible to quarantine a city like Tehran, which is the capital of the country and where international activities are taking place."
According to him, however, by implementing the guidelines of the National Corona Headquarters for two weeks, "in practice, Tehran is closed."
His remarks come at a time when, according to IRNA, the Ministry of Health has announced on the Mask system, referring to the red status of 257 cities in Iran, that "a two-week lockdown of the entire country is necessary, otherwise there is a possibility of an increase in the daily death toll."
Referring to the rapidly increasing number of coronavirus patients hospitalized in medical centers, the ministry emphasized the need for an immediate and complete two-week nationwide lockdown, as well as the need for a "complete travel ban, the closure of all restaurants and hotel dining rooms, serious restrictions on evening traffic, and the imposition of heavy penalties for any ceremonies or gatherings across the country."
This is while, shortly afterwards, Mehr News Agency, citing the Ministry of Health, denied the issuance of this directive.
The incoherence in the Ministry of Health and the publication of contradictory news by this ministry are taking place at a time when, according to the latest announcement by the Ministry of Health, 174 more people died of coronavirus in Iran in the 24 hours ending on Tuesday, and during the same period, 17,430 new patients with coronavirus were identified in the country.
Iranian Health Ministry officials have not announced how many of the victims and infected people in the 24 hours ending Tuesday afternoon belonged to Tehran, as they refuse to provide disaggregated statistics.
The accuracy of government statistics on the coronavirus in Iran is questioned by independent sources, and the Iranian Medical System Organization believes that the number of victims is at least three times the official figure.
Source: Radio Farda
