TEHRAN, Iran, Nov. 9
Trend:
Governor of Tehran Anoushirvan Mohseni Bandpei has announced that the two-week closure of the capital is not on the agenda at the moment, Trend reports citing Mehr News Agency.
Bandpei has rejected the proposal to close the capital for two weeks.
“Under the new measures, non-essential businesses such as malls, small retailers, cinemas and gyms would close from 6 PM for a month starting from Tuesday,” he said adding that the cessation of activities of these services, as well as the stricter measures to observe social distance, the two-week closure in the capital is not envisaged.
He went on to note the development of online services to prevent people from physical contacts.
The rising toll has brought a number of health experts and officials to call for a lockdown in the capital as a minimum measure.
In a press briefing on Sunday, Health Ministry spokesperson Sima-Sadat Lari confirmed 9,236 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total number of infections to 682,486. She added that 520,329 patients have so far recovered, but 5,523 still remain in critical conditions of the disease.
During the past 24 hours, coronavirus daily deaths and new cases hit the record high, as 459 patients have lost their lives, bringing the total number of deaths to 38,291, she added.
Iran has not imposed a full lockdown since it was hit by COVID-19 in February, with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani arguing the country’s sanctions-hit economy cannot afford to be shut down for an extended period.