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Amid surge in COVID-19 cases, Iran to tighten restrictions from next Saturday

WION Web Team
TehranUpdated: Nov 14, 2020, 06:34 PM IST
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Photograph:(IANS)

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President Hassan Rouhani had insisted that the country could not afford a shut down due to the US sanctions which has hit the country economically

Iran President Hassan Rouhani announced today that the country will impose stricter coronavirus restrictions from next Saturday.

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Iranian officials said that "red" or level 3 in capital Tehran as authorities devised a colour-coding system that denotes the severity of the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

According to reports, the new restrictions include the closure of non-essential businesses such as small retailers, malls, gyms, cinemas from the evening at 6:00 pm until the next morning.

The officials said that they were against closing businesses but said that "limits" need to be set. Reports say at least 150 towns and cities have been rated "orange" which is level 2 of coronavirus alert.

Iran's daily COVID-19 infections crossed the 10,000 mark this week as the number of cases shot up to 692,949. The death toll due to the virus in one day reached  458. 

Iran had earlier imposed short restrictions and did not impose a full lockdown, however, the number of coronavirus cases has surged in the past month. Iran is the worst-hit by coronavirus in West Asia.

President Hassan Rouhani had insisted that the country could not afford a shut down due to the US sanctions which has hit the country economically even as health officials have been calling for a full lockdown in the capital. 

The number of fatalities due to the virus has reached 38,749. 

Iran had earlier imposed travel restrictions on cities hit hardest due to the virus with capitals of at least 25 provinces identified as a "red" zone.