BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 21
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
It was decided to close Iran's borders with Iraq, given the spread of the new strain of the coronavirus in Iran, especially in the Khuzestan Province (southwestern Iran), the Chief of Staff of the National Committee to Combat Coronavirus in Iran and the Minister of Internal Affairs of Iran Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli told journalists, Trend reports citing the IRNA.
The minister said that certain restrictions have been imposed on exit-entrance to the Khuzestan Province and between the cities of this province.
He added that the mass gatherings and exhibitions due to the approaching Novruz holiday have been banned. Traffic on intercity roads will also be closely monitored.
According to Rahmani Fazli, relevant decisions have been made to bring vaccines purchased from different countries to Iran as soon as possible.
Iran continues to monitor the coronavirus situation in the country. According to recent reports from Iranian officials, over 1.56 million people have been infected, and 59,409 people have already died. Meanwhile, over 1.33 million people have reportedly recovered from the disease.
The country continues to apply strict measures to contain 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 outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.