travel restriction Archives - Iran News Daily

Three-day Travel Restrictions Imposed in 5 Iranian Cities

reporter 1222 — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 10:04:21 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – The Iranian president has approved a proposal to impose three-day travel restrictions in five cities hit hardest by the coronavirus outbreak, the health minister said.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet session on Wednesday, Saeed Namaki said President Hassan Rouhani has accepted his proposal for travel restrictions during the upcoming three-day holidays.

The travel bans would be imposed in five cities with the highest rate of infection, namely Tehran, Karaj, Mashhad, Isfahan and Orumiyeh, he added.

The health minister expressed hope that the restrictions would help curb the pandemic.

This week, the two-day weekend in Iran is followed by a holiday marking the martyrdom anniversary of the eighth Shiite imam, Imam Reza (AS).

While the authorities have warned people to stay home and abide by social distancing protocols to tackle the pandemic, many people plan to go on vacation on the weekend and national holidays.

The total number of people tested positive for COVID-19 infection in Iran has surpassed 510,000 and the death toll has exceeded 29,000.

Nearly all provinces of Iran have been declared as red zones -regions with high risk of contagion.

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Foreigners Must Provide Negative COVID-19 Tests: Official

reporter 1222 — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 05:56:41 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Non-Iranian passengers arriving at Iran’s main international airport should provide negative COVID-19 tests or they will be deported, said a senior aviation official amid imposition of fresh restrictions in the country to curb the spread of the new coronavirus pandemic.

“Passengers with non-Iranian nationalities will not be allowed into the country and will be deported if they do not produce a negative COVID-19 test,” added Mohammad Reza Karimian, the deputy director of Imam Khomeini Airport (IKA), Press TV reported.

Karimian noted that deportation would only apply to non-Iranian citizens, saying others failing to provide a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test will have to incur the costs of a test and a forced 48-hour quarantine that follows it.

The PCR tests should have been carried out less than four days before arrival in Iran by qualified authorities in the country of embarkation and results should be English, the official stressed.

He said new restrictions will come into force on July 15, adding that even passengers with a negative test could be subject to quarantine measures if they are deemed suspicious on arrival at IKA, an airport located to the southwest of Tehran.

Iran is struggling to reduce the risk of imported disease cases amid increased international travel to the region.

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Coronavirus: Iran limits travel and urges banknote avoidance

reporter 1222 — Thu, 12 Mar 2020 07:14:44 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran is limiting travel between its major cities as it tries to halt the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed at least 107 people there.

The country has already shut schools until April, and Health Minister Saeed Namaki said people should not use the break as an opportunity to travel.

He also urged Iranians to reduce the use of paper banknotes.

The measures come as the World Health Organization warned some countries were not doing enough to stop the virus.

But WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus insisted containment was still possible, adding: “This is not a time to give up.”

Iran is one of the most infected countries outside China, where the Covid-19 virus – which causes the coronavirus disease – originated.

Worldwide, authorities have confirmed more than 92,000 cases of the virus, of which more than 80,000 are in China.

More than 3,000 people have died globally, the vast majority of them in China.

Mr. Namaki said checkpoints would go up to limit travel between major cities.

In a televised press conference, he said travel was “very dangerous” and reports showed “many cars on the roads are taking the virus with them” to uninfected areas.

He added that schools and universities would remain closed until Nowruz, the Persian new year, on 20 March, which marks the beginning of a national holiday.

“People should not consider this as an opportunity to go traveling. They should stay home and take our warnings seriously,” he said.

“This virus is highly contagious. It is a serious matter, do not joke about it.”

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