Traffic in Iran Increased but Corona Situation Has Not Become ‘Normal’
Road traffic in the first week of Ordibehesht in Iran increased by 23 percent and 116 cities have been announced as “white zone.” However, the Ministry of Health and Interior emphasize that “the situation regarding Corona has not become normal.”
Nader Rahmani, head of the Information and Traffic Control Center of the Traffic Police of NAJA, told ISNA news agency on Monday, the 8th of Ordibehesht (April 27), that statistics show that traffic on Iran’s roads in the first week of Ordibehesht compared to the last week of Farvardin increased by 23 percent.
According to him, no road has been blocked due to coronavirus prevention, and according to the order of the National Coronavirus Taskforce, all traffic restrictions in this regard have been lifted.
Iraj Harirchi, Deputy Minister of Health, also on the same day in a television program announced the mandatory use of masks in the metro and public transportation. He said people are obliged to use masks and “at the entrances of metro stations, masks will be provided to people at reasonable prices and with some subsidies as much as possible.”
“White” status in 116 counties
The Deputy Minister of Health announced the situation in 116 counties of Iran as “white zone.” At the same time, Ali Rabiei, Minister of Interior, and Alireza Raisi, Deputy Minister of Health, emphasized that this statistic does not mean the situation has become normal.
ISNA news agency quoted Ali Rabiei as saying: “The claim that the government is seeking to normalize conditions is not true at all, and we do not have a normal situation regarding Corona.”
Alireza Raisi also said in a video conference with journalists regarding the corona situation in Iran that those 116 counties that are among the white zone areas cover a population of approximately 14 to 15 million. “On this basis, in most areas of the country we are still dealing with the virus and we must continue to fight seriously, and the situation is not normal and good at all.”
According to him, some openings in green spaces were not done correctly and health measures were not observed in them: “In one of the markets of counties, we identified 71 new cases of the disease, and these issues could lead to reconsideration.”
Latest corona statistics and counterfeit alcohol victims in Iran
According to Alireza Jahanpour, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, 991 people have been infected with Corona in the past 24 hours. Based on these statistics, after 36 days, the number of new daily COVID-19 cases in Iran has fallen below 1,000. The total number of COVID-19 patients in Iran according to official statistics up to Monday reached 91,472 people, and the total death toll from this disease reached 5,806 people, of whom 96 have died from yesterday to today.
The Ministry of Health statistics simultaneously show that the number of citizens who died as a result of using counterfeit alcohol reached 5,011 people by Monday morning. Of these, only 525 people referred to medical centers. Given these statistics, the number of counterfeit alcohol victims is only 795 fewer than coronavirus cases in Iran.
Conditions do not exist for reopening religious sites
Hassan Rouhani, under pressure from the Qom seminary and some hardline factions, was forced to allow opening mosques in the month of Ramadan. However, not all religious centers will be opened. Alireza Raisi told journalists in this regard that his main concern more than Corona itself is the perception that the situation has become “normal” and this could “create the greatest problem for disease control and management.”
Regarding the reopening of religious and pilgrimage sites, he emphasized that neither now nor until the end of Ramadan “do these conditions exist” and “with the current trend, I consider it unlikely that this will happen soon.”
Source: DW
