TEHRAN (Iran News) – A Health Ministry official announced the imposition of restrictions on businesses in the provinces classified as “red” in an effort to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country.
Mohsen Farhadi, the deputy health minister, said on Wednesday that only one group of businesses can continue their activities in the red provinces, IRNA reported.
Red is the highest level on the country’s color-coded risk scale.
Official figures have shown an upward trajectory in new confirmed cases since early May when Iran hit a near two-month low in daily recorded infections.
On Monday, Iran reported 162 more deaths from the novel coronavirus, the highest single-day toll since the country’s outbreak began in February.
Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on Wednesday the number of people infected with the novel coronavirus has reached 230,211 after the detection of 2,549 new cases from Tuesday to Wednesday.
Speaking at a daily press conference, Lari said of the new cases detected, 1,621 patients have been admitted to the hospital.
Among those undergoing treatment in medical centers at present, 3,081 coronavirus patients have critical health conditions because of more severe infection, Lari noted.
She further put the death toll from COVID-19 in Iran at 10,958, saying the disease has taken the lives of 141 patients.
At least 191,487 patients have recovered from the coronavirus infection so far and have been discharged from hospitals across Iran, the spokeswoman said.
Lari also noted that more than 1,693,000 coronavirus diagnostic tests have been carried out in Iran so far.
Iran has refrained from enforcing full lockdowns to stop the pandemic’s spread, and the use of masks and protective equipment has been optional in most areas, according to Reuters.
Iran closed schools, canceled public events, and banned movement between its 31 provinces in March, but the government progressively lifted restrictions from April to try to reopen the economy.
Authorities have launched a campaign to encourage people to wear masks and decreed mandatory mask-wearing in covered spaces where there are gatherings.
President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday mask-wearing will become mandatory in certain areas as he allowed virus-hit provinces to reimpose restrictions to contain coronavirus spread.
Iran reported its first COVID-19 cases on February 19 and it has since struggled to contain the outbreak, the deadliest in West Asia.
- source : Iran Daily, Irannews
