TEHRAN (Iran News) –  Gov’t Announces 6-Day General Lockdown Amid COVID Surge. Gov’t Announces 6-Day General Lockdown Amid COVID Surge. The spokesman for National Task Force for Fighting Covid-19 said Saturday that from Monday until end of Saturday August 21, there will be a travel ban in place between provinces.

The spokesman for Iran’s National Task Force for Fighting Covid-19 Alireza Raisi said on Saturday that from tomorrow, Sunday (August 15) at 12 o’clock, there will be a ban on travelling between provinces in place until Saturday, August 21.

Raisi said that the Law Enforcement and the judicial officials will make sure that the restrictions are respected throughout the country.

The restrictions include fines for drivers who violate the rules.

The spokesman said that all the government bodies will be off work or will be working from home from Monday, August 16 until end of Saturday, August 21.

The national anti-coronavirus task force, led by President Ebrahim Raisi, said on Saturday the nationwide shutdown will begin on Monday and last through Saturday. All offices, banks and non-essential businesses will be shut down.

An intra-city travel ban will also be instated from Sunday morning and last through Saturday night.

Tehran experienced its deadliest day on record on Friday, when 390 people died, including 216 from COVID-19. That figure broke a grim record in the 51-year history of Behesht-e Zahra, the capital’s cemetery, which is the largest in Iran.

The latest color-coded map denoting the severity of outbreaks shows that zero cities are classified as “blue”, which indicates the lowest level of alarm. That is while a whopping 358 counties, encompassing almost all of the country’s 31 provinces, are classified as “red”.

This is while earlier this month, Health Minister Saeed Namaki called for an urgent two-week lockdown enforced by the military to prevent a full collapse of the country’s strained health system.

Several earlier lockdowns were easily flouted amid lax enforcement by authorities.