Iran concerned over coronavirus resurgence as residents ignore 'stay home' appeals

Iran concerned over coronavirus resurgence as residents ignore 'stay home' appeals
Residents ignoring calls by authorities to stay at home to stem the coronavirus outbreak could assist in a new surge of the virus, Tehran warned.
3 min read
05 April, 2020
Thousands of people have died from the disease in Iran [Getty]
Tehran may face a resurgence of the novel coronavirus outbreak due to residents ignoring calls by authorities to stay home, a senior Iranian health official warned on Saturday.

Shops across the Islamic Republic's capital had reopened despite an order to close all non-essential services and businesses, state television said, showing Iranians ignoring appeals to cancel travel plans and unnecessary errands.

"We are still concerned about the virus, for example with the level of traffic in Tehran today and queues of cars stuck on freeways, because these people can take the virus to their homes or workplaces," Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi said on state TV.

"Even a medium level of virus here can spread to nearby cities with the high level of job-related traffic between nearby cities and Tehran," said Harirchi, who has himself been ill with Covid-19.

"Dr Harirchi cautioned about a probable return of coronavirus in case of negligence and said social distancing measures were absolutely necessary," said the TV report.

Iran has been one of the hardest hit countries in the region, with an outbreak that has led to more than 55,743 cases, putting pressure on the heavily pressured health service.

Iranian ministers, MPs and generals have also been infected by the virus, including top military commanders in Iran's IRGC forces.

The warning came despite reports that Iran's new cases of coronavirus have dropped for the fourth consecutive day, official figures released on Saturday showed, as a two-week holiday in the Islamic republic came to an end.

Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said that while 4,103 patients were in critical condition, recoveries had increased over recent days and a total of 19,736 people had left hospital.

After resisting lockdown or quarantine measures, Iran imposed an intercity travel ban late last month until April 8.

Read also: Coronavirus Pandemic - Positive stories of resilience and bravery from the Middle East this week

Officials have indicated that the ban, along with other measures to combat the spread of the virus such as the closure of schools and religious sites, could be extended.

Saturday should have marked a return to regular activity in Iran after a two-week holiday for the Persian New Year.

President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday warned that the country might still battle the pandemic for another year.

The Covid-19 virus, which was first detected in China's Wuhan in December, has killed more than 64,788 people worldwide, while over 1,203,959 infections have been confirmed.

The majority of those that infected with Covid-19 experience only mild or moderate symptoms, including fever and a dry cough.

As of yet, there are no known treatments for the virus, though more than 247,302 have already recovered from the infection.

Click to enlarge

Follow us on FacebookTwitter and Instagram to stay connected