TEHRAN, Iran, April.20
Trend:
Iran's Road Management Center has announced lifting of restrictions on inter-provincial roads from April 20, after a month of restrictions due to the coronavirus outbreak, Trend reports citing IRNA.
According to images received from surveillance cameras, traffic counting systems and roadside patrols across the country, with the exception of blocked roads, the rest of the country's transportation roads are open and traffic is running normally.
“The statistics shows an increase of about 5.6 percent traffic volume compared to the previous day,” said the message from the Road Management Center.
In particular, the reports indicate heavy traffic on the Qazvin-Karaj freeway.
Iran is one of the countries heavily affected by the rapidly-spreading coronavirus. According to recent reports from the Iranian officials, over 83,500 people have been infected, 5,209 people have already died. Meanwhile, over 59,200 have reportedly recovered from the disease.
The country continues to apply strict measures to contain the further spread. Reportedly, the disease was brought to Iran by a businessman from Iran's Qom city, who went on a business trip to China, despite official warnings. The man died later from the disease.
The Islamic Republic only announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on Feb. 19.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.