Iran’s government has ordered a widespread shutdown of cities hit hardest by the coronavirus outbreak as daily infections and deaths are setting new records.
Starting Saturday, 21 Novbember, some 150 cities, located in red zone, including Tehran, will implement severe restrictions.
"We are on the verge of a new stage of social responsibility over the growing spread of the coronavirus," President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday during a televised cabinet meeting.
"As of Saturday, severe restrictions will be imposed in the country," he said.
Restrictions will include limiting inter-city travel, banning private vehicles from 9:00 pm to 4:00 am, closing educational centers, and reducing the public workforce to a third in high-risk areas for the duration of two weeks.
According to Government Spokesman Ali Rabiei the National Coronavirus Taskforce’s plan to close cities in red zone “can be extended beyond two weeks”.
Iran has not imposed a full lockdown since it reported its first Covid-19 cases in February.
The country is the worst hit in the Middle East by the pandemic, and official deaths and infection figures have hit several new records in recent weeks.
According to health ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari, 480 deaths had been recorded across Iran on Wednesday bringing the toll to 42,941.
She added that infections had reached a new high of 13,421 during the same time. A total of 801,894 people have contracted the coronavirus in Iran, Lari said.