TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani introduced fines for violators as the country has made it mandatory to wear face masks in the capital Tehran in an attempt to contain the resurgence of the coronavirus.

Speaking during a meeting of National Headquarters for Managing and Fighting the Coronavirus on Saturday, Rouhani said Tehran residents would be fined 500,000 riyals ($1.66) for not wearing face coverings and would be given two weeks to pay the amount.

A person, who is infected with the coronavirus, is also obliged to inform his family and workplace and quarantine himself for two weeks, otherwise he would be fined 2,000,000 riyals ($6.67), he added.

If taxi drivers do not use masks, they risk a fine of 1,000,000 riyals ($3.33), Rouhnai noted.

He further said that if taxi drivers pick up passengers without face coverings, they will be fined 200,000 ($0.66) for each passenger.

The businesses that do not abide by the compulsory face mask rule would first be handed a notice, and if they continue the violation, they will be fined 3,000,000 riyals ($10) and later 10,000,000 ($33.4) or closed finally, the president added.

The police, the Basij force and health inspectors will have powers to impose the fines, and offenders will have two weeks to make payment into a Health Ministry account, Rouhani said.

The president also stressed that the new measures will only be enforced in Tehran and may be extended to other provinces if necessary.

Iran has been contending with the deadliest pandemic the world has seen in many decades amid illegal US sanctions, which have seriously hampered efforts to stem the outbreak.

After declining for weeks, the deaths and infections have been on the rise in Iran since the beginning of September.

New figures

Iran’s daily death toll from the novel coronavirus hit a record high of 239 on Wednesday. Daily infections reached a new high of 4,392 the following day.

The virus has killed more than 28,000 people and infected nearly 500,000 in Iran, according to Health Ministry figures.

Tehran authorities shut most public spaces and cancelled public events for a week last Saturday in a bid to contain the spread of the virus. Those restrictions have been extended until Friday.

According to the Health Ministry, Iran registered 3,875 new coronavirus cases from Friday to Saturday, with the total number of identified cases in the worst-hit country in the West Asia rising to 496,253.

Among those undergoing treatment in medical centers at present, 4,439 coronavirus patients have critical health conditions, ministry’s spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on Saturday.

She added that 195 patients died from Friday to Saturday, bringing the total number of fatalities to 28,293.

IRNA, Press TV and Reuters contributed to this story.