Corona "quasi-outbreak" in Iran and travel restrictions during Nowruz
The commander of the Greater Tehran Coronavirus Response Headquarters has warned of the spread of a mutated strain of the coronavirus, saying, "We are on the verge of a quasi-national coronavirus outbreak." The government is seeking to impose restrictions on travel related to Nowruz travel.
Alireza Raisi, spokesman for the National Headquarters for Combating Coronavirus, announced on Wednesday (March 26) the identification of 112 cases of the mutant coronavirus in Iran. According to him, 13 new cases of the mutant coronavirus have been identified, five in Tehran, seven in Hormozgan, and one in West Azerbaijan. So far, eight people in the country have lost their lives due to the virus.
The Deputy Minister of Health also pointed to evidence indicating that the mutated type of coronavirus is circulating throughout Iran, saying: "If there is even the slightest negligence in observing health protocols, it can engulf any city, province, or the entire country, and the rate of the disease will increase."
He stressed that “difficult days” await the people. Alireza Zali, commander of the Greater Tehran Coronavirus Response Headquarters, also warned: “Today, we are on the verge of a quasi-national coronavirus outbreak, and that is the emergence of mutated parts of the virus.”
Border control and intercity traffic
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday at a meeting of the heads of the eight committees of the National Headquarters for Combating Corona that if "the health and livelihood of the people are affected or harmed by the formation of a new outbreak of the disease, especially on the eve of Eid," the government will be forced to tighten restrictions.
Referring to the situation in the red cities, including Khuzestan, he said: "It was reviewed and decided to intensify border control and management and prevent the movement of passengers across the border with Iraq, and at the same time, increase monitoring of guild activities and control of intercity travel in Khuzestan province."
According to ISNA news agency, the meeting also decided that the National Headquarters for Combating Corona will prepare a unified framework regarding permits for essential intercity travel and notify it to the governorates.
Latest Corona statistics in Iran
According to statistics announced by Sima Sadat Lari, spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Health, in the past 24 hours, 1,598,875 people in Iran have been infected with the coronavirus and 73 have died. The number of deaths from the coronavirus in Iran has reached 59,736, and 1,705 patients are in critical condition.
The cities of Abadan, Ahvaz, Bandar Mahshahr, Khorramshahr, Dezful, Dasht-e Azadegan, Ramhormoz, Shadegan, Shushtar, Karun, and Hoveyzeh, and 11 counties are in red. 52 counties are orange, 217 counties are yellow, and 168 counties are blue.
Nowruz can be considered a threat
Despite warnings and the relentless spread of the mutated coronavirus, which has a much higher infectious capacity than the original virus, many are preparing for Nowruz trips to Iran.
Abbas Mousavi, the president of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, said that the Eid holiday “can be considered both an opportunity and a threat for all of us.” He emphasized that “the Eid holidays do not prevent the spread of the disease, and given the spread of the English mutant virus in some provinces of the country, it is better not to travel or to reduce it to a minimum.”
According to Mousavi, over 22,000 people have been hospitalized with coronavirus in Mazandaran province in the past year. The death toll from the disease in Mazandaran province has also been very high. He said: "Despite the fact that we accounted for 2.6 percent of the national average in the death toll from coronavirus patients, unfortunately 2,400 citizens and sometimes travelers in Mazandaran died in the province's hospitals."
Source: DW
