Iran’s death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic has risen to 4,585, with 111 more overnight, a Ministry of Health official said yesterday, adding that the total number of infected cases had reached 73,303 in the most-affected Middle Eastern nation.
On Sunday, the government lifted a ban on travel between cities within Iranian provinces, while restrictions on trips between provinces are to end on Monday next week, state media reported.
“45,983 of those infected with the virus have recovered ... There were 1,617 new infected cases in the past 24 hours,” Alireza Vahabzadeh, an adviser to Iran’s health minister, said on Twitter.
Photo: AFP
Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur told Iranian state TV that 3,877 of those infected with the virus were in a critical condition.
State TV showed streets packed with people, crowded buses and subway cars in several cities as so-called low-risk businesses — including many shops and workshops — have reopened across Iran from Saturday, with the exception of the capital, Tehran, where they are to resume activities from Saturday.
Some health officials and experts have warned the government about a second wave of COVID-19 that they said could hit Tehran hard.
Coronavirus Taskforce of Tehran head Alireza Zali called on people to stay at home.
Businesses and services seen as high-risk, including theaters, swimming pools, saunas, beauty salons, schools, shopping centers and restaurants, have yet to reopen.
Iran’s clerical rulers, who have been struggling to curb the spread of the disease, are concerned that measures to limit public activities could wreck an economy that has already been battered by US sanctions.
“We have to fight against the coronavirus and the virus of sanctions together,” government spokesman Ali Rabiei said in a televised weekly news conference.
Washington reimposed sanctions on Iran in 2018, when US President Donald Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 nuclear deal with six major powers.
Iranian authorities have blamed the sanctions for hampering their efforts to combat the disease. However, Iran’s leaders have rejected Washington’s offer of humanitarian assistance to contain the outbreak.
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