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.

Rouhani said Iran would have to live with the virus for the “long haul”, as he announced the latest measures to combat it.

Mask-wearing would be “obligatory in covered spaces where there are gatherings”, he said during a televised meeting of the anti-virus taskforce.

According to him, the measure would come into force as of next Sunday, continue until July 22, and would be extended if necessary.

Rouhani said the Health Ministry had devised “a clear list” of the types of spaces and gatherings deemed high-risk.

He did not say what the penalty would be for those who fail to observe the measure.

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 Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi, services would not be provided to those without masks in areas such as government organizations and shopping malls.

But implementing the measure may be difficult, as according to Tehran’s mayor, many do not wear masks in places like the capital’s public transport network, where it is already mandatory.

“Fifty percent of metro passengers wear masks… and even fewer in buses,” Mayor Pirouz Hanachi said.

“We can’t forcefully confront people without masks,” he added.

The government launched an “#I wear a mask” campaign on Saturday and pleaded with Iranians to observe guidelines aimed at curbing infections.

One Iranian is infected with COVID-19 every 33 seconds and one dies from the disease every 13 minutes, Harirchi said on Saturday.

Zanjan in northwestern Iran has already reimposed restrictive measures for two weeks, its governor said in a televised interview.

It followed a “certain indifference from Zanjan residents and as the number of our (virus) deaths picked up again in recent weeks,” said Alireza Asgari.

The limitations include closing wedding halls and a ban on funeral events held at mosques, as they can lead to large gatherings, he added.

Iran reported its first COVID-19 cases on February 19 and it has since struggled to contain the outbreak.

The Health Ministry on Sunday announced 144 virus deaths in the past 24 hours, the highest for a single day since April 5, raising the total to 10,508.

Spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari also raised total confirmed infections to 222,669, with 2,489 new cases during the same period.

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.

“Considering the rising numbers, I plead with you to definitely use masks outside and in covered places,” Lari said.

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 its sanctions-hit economy.

The increasing virus caseload has seen some previously unscathed provinces classified as “red” – the highest level on Iran’s color-coded risk scale – with authorities allowing them to reimpose restrictive measures if required.

According to Rouhani, the measure would also be extended to provinces with “red” counties.

“Any county that is red, its provincial (virus) committee can propose reimposing limitations for a week”, which could be extended if needed, he said.

He also is experiencing its toughest year because of US sanctions coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s been the most difficult year due to the enemy’s economic pressure and the pandemic,” Rouhani said.

“The economic pressure that began in 2018 has increased … and today it is the toughest pressure on our dear country.”

US President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018 from Iran’s nuclear deal with major powers and reimposed sanctions

AFP and Reuters contributed to this story.

 

The research by the University of Hong Kong is some of the first to specifically investigate whether masks can stop symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers from infecting others.

Led by Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, one of the world’s top coronavirus experts, the team placed hamsters that were artificially infected with the disease next to healthy animals.

Surgical masks were placed between the two cages with airflow traveling from the infected animals to the healthy ones.

The researchers found non-contact transmission of the virus could be reduced by more than 60 percent when the masks were used.

Two thirds of the healthy hamsters were infected within a week if no masks were applied.

The infection rate plunged to just over 15 percent when surgical masks were put on the cage of the infected animals and by about 35 percent when placed on the cage with the healthy hamsters.

Those that did become infected were also found to have less of the virus within their bodies than those infected without a mask.

“It’s very clear that the effect of masking the infected, especially when they are asymptomatic — or symptomatic — it’s much more important than anything else,” Yuen told reporters.

“It also explained why universal masking is important because we now have known that a large number of those infected have no symptom.”

Yuen was one of the microbiologists who discovered the SARS virus — a predecessor of the current coronavirus — when it emerged in 2003, killing some 300 people in Hong Kong.

Armed with knowledge from that fight, he advised Hong Kongers early in the current pandemic to adopt universal masking, something embraced by the city’s residents.

At the time the World Health Organisation and many other foreign health authorities dismissed using masks widely among the public, saying they should instead go to frontline medical workers.

Four months after its first COVID-19 case was detected, Hong Kong has largely managed to contain the disease with just over 1,000 infections and four deaths.

Experts have credited widespread mask use as well as efficient testing, tracing and treatment in the city of 7.5 million for the relatively low numbers.