At Tehran’s Shah Abdol-Azim shrine, worshippers had to wear a mask, walk through a disinfection tunnel and have their temperature checked as they began returning from the early morning.

The shrine of Imam Reza (PBUH) in Mashhad in northeast Iran and the shrine of Lady Fatimah Masoumeh (PBUH) and Jamkaran mosque in the holy city of Qom also reopened while observing health protocols.

They are allowed to open starting from an hour after dawn until an hour before dusk.

The Iranian TV showed worshippers crying and running toward the shrine of Imam Reza as they were guided by attendants.

In a statement on its website, the shrine said visitors must observe health requirements such as wearing masks and maintaining social distancing, and bring their own prayer mats, books and other accessories.

Shrines were closed alongside schools, universities and all non-vital businesses in March after Iran reported its first two coronavirus deaths in Qom in late February.

Iran has allowed a phased reopening of its economy and gradual relaxation of restrictions since early April, with a further easing expected in the coming days.

The Health Ministry said on Monday it had detected another 34 deaths from the coronavirus outbreak, bringing the country’s overall fatalities to 7,451.

Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 2,023 new positive tests for COVID-19 took the country’s caseload to 137,724.

Khuzestan Province was still the worst-hit, and the rest of the country was in relative stability”, Jahanpour added.

He said 19 provinces reported no deaths in the past 24-hour period, while five reported just one fatality.

The spokesman also said 107,713 people have so far recovered from the respiratory disease and that 2,585 patients are in critical condition receiving treatment in ICU.

India overtook Iran on COVID-19 cases and become the tenth worst-hit country globally after registering its biggest single day spike of cases for the fourth consecutive day on Monday with 6,977 new infections reported in the last 24 hours

The country’s tally climbed 138,845 while the death toll rose to 4,021, according to its Union Health Ministry.

AFP and The Wire contributed to this story.

 

The country shut all mosques and shrines in March as part of efforts to contain the West Asia’s deadliest outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

The reopening was granted for the Nights of Qadr (value) – a high point during the fasting month of Ramadan that marks when the Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Namaki sounded a note of caution as he announced that worshippers would be allowed to attend mosques and ceremonies for three of the next five nights.

“The biggest strategic mistake is to think that the coronavirus is finished,” he said in remarks broadcast on national television.

“At any time, we can go back to bad circumstances” due to “negligence”, said Namaki.

“Our priority is to hold ceremonies outdoors” such as “in stadiums”, he said, “so that social distancing is properly observed.”

Namaki said his ministry agreed in a meeting to help “organize ceremonies from midnight to 2:00 a.m. during the Nights of Qadr”.

He said the move came in response to “concern” expressed by Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and stressed the Leader “always supports all measures” to contain the virus.

All gatherings would need to respect “health protocols to the maximum”, he added.

His remarks came shortly before Iran announced another 48 deaths from the virus taking its overall toll to 6,733.

Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said another 1,481 people tested positive for the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 110,767 since the start of the crisis.

Iran has struggled to contain its outbreak of the virus that causes COVID-19 since announcing its first cases in the holy city of Qom on February 19.

The government closed schools, postponed major events, and banned intercity travel but it has eased restrictions gradually since April 11.

Last Friday, the main weekly prayer gatherings resumed in up to 180 Iranian cities, and towns are seen as being at low risk of the coronavirus contagion after a two-month suspension.

The resumption of Friday prayers — still banned in the capital Tehran and some other major cities — followed the reopening last Monday of 132 mosques in areas consistently free of the virus.

Schools will reopen next week, President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday.

The government warned on Monday of a setback in its efforts to contain the virus.

“We have regressed in Khuzestan due to (people) not observing health protocols,” Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raeisi said, referring to a southwestern province that is now the epicenter of the country’s outbreak.

“This can happen to any other province if we are not careful,” he added, noting that tighter measures would be reimposed in other places too if needed.

Authorities have shut down state bodies, banks, and nonessential businesses again in nine of Khuzestan’s counties. A county was also placed under lockdown.

The governor of Khuzestan said there had been a sharp rise in new cases across the province.

Government spokesman Ali Rabiei said “less than 50 percent” of Khuzestan residents have observed health protocols.

“We’ve seen a rising trend of infection and death (in Khuzestan) which shows protocols and social distancing are not being observed,” he said in a televised news conference.

AFP and Reuters contributed to this story.

The Policymaking Council for Friday Prayers Imams urged worshippers to respect “health protocols” for attending prayer gatherings.

The Health Ministry has said in the areas where mosques reopen, worshippers must maintain social distancing, wear masks and gloves, stay only for half an hour during prayer times, and must use their personal items, said.

Mosques must also refrain from offering food and drinks, give out hand sanitizers and disinfect all surfaces.

Iran closed off religious sites and locked down parts of its economy in March after emerging as the biggest hot spot in West Asia for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Since April 11, Iran has allowed a gradual reopening of shops and, since Monday, mosques in about 30 percent of the counties where the risk of renewed outbreaks is considered low.

Prayer gatherings will continue to be banned in major cities, including all provincial capitals, for now.

Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour urged citizens to take social distancing “more seriously” on Friday as he announced more than 1,500 new cases of coronavirus infection.

“We (Iranians) are urged to continue to follow health advice, especially social distancing, more seriously than on previous days and weeks,” Jahanpour said in televised remarks.

He said 55 new virus fatalities in the past 24 hours took the overall death toll in the health crisis to 6,541.

Jahanpour said another 1,556 people tested positive for the novel coronavirus over the same period of time, taking the country’s cases to 104,691.

On Saturday, the official tally of daily infections hit 802 – its lowest level since the start of March.

Iran’s count stayed below 1,000 for a second day, however, its caseload rebounded on Monday and has stayed above that mark on each day since then.

Since reporting its first cases in mid-February, the Islamic republic has struggled to contain the spread of the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease.

In order to contain the spread of the disease, Iran has taken various restrictive measures, without ever imposing a lockdown or quarantine.

AP and AFP contributed to this story.

Mosques and some holy shrines in Iran were closed in early March amid the conditions of deadliest COVID-19 outbreak in West Asia.

Mosques were allowed to reopen to worshippers in 132, or around a third, of Iran’s administrative divisions which are considered low-risk areas.

The country has started using a color-coded system of “white”, “yellow” and “red” for different areas to classify the virus risk.

In the areas where mosques reopen, worshippers must maintain social distancing, wear masks and gloves, stay only for half an hour during prayer times, and must use their personal items, said the Health Ministry on Monday.

Mosques must also refrain from offering food and drinks, give out hand sanitizers and disinfect all surfaces, it said in a statement.

President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday the reopening is part of a broader plan to ease restrictions.

Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour on Monday announced another 74 deaths from the disease.

Jahanpour said the new fatalities brought to 6,277 the total number officially recorded in Iran since it reported its first cases in mid-February.

That was a jump in deaths compared with 47 on Sunday, which was the lowest daily count that Iran has recorded in 55 days.

Another 1,223 cases of COVID-19 infections were recorded in the past 24 hours, Jahanpour said, raising the total to 98,647.

According to Jahanpour, 79,397 of those hospitalized with the disease since Iran reported its first cases in mid-February have been discharged, while 2,676 are in critical condition.

He declared that Iran was among “top five countries in the world” with the highest number of recoveries.

Iran has tried to contain the spread of the virus by shutting universities, cinemas, stadiums, and other public spaces since March.

But the government has allowed a phased reopening of its economy since April 11, arguing that the sanctions-hit country cannot afford to remain shut down.

Iran has already lifted a ban on intercity trips and malls, with large shopping centers resuming activities despite warnings by some health officials of a new wave of infections.

Only “high-risk” businesses like gyms and barbershops remain closed.

School and university closures were maintained and cultural and sports gatherings are also still banned, though Rouhani said the plan is for some schools to reopen soon.

The coronavirus taskforce was mulling over reopening schools by May 16 to allow for a month of classes before the summer break.

AFP and Reuters contributed to this story.