TEHRAN, July 19. /TASS/. Iranian authorities have put Tehran and Alborz provinces under a de-facto lockdown effective between July 20 and 25, according to an IRNA report citing government spokesman Ali Rabiei.
"Based on proposals of the National Coronavirus Prevention and Combating Anti-Crisis Center and under the president’s approval, a decision was made to shut down all state agencies and their offices in Tehran and Alborz provinces," Rabiei said.
Therefore, all state and official agencies, banks, local courts and schools in these provinces will be closed. Also, residents of these two provinces will be prohibited from traveling to other cities under the penalty of fines.
The measures are the result of another COVID incidence spike in a number of cities, including Tehran. The Alborz region is located northwest of the capital, with many residents commuting between these two provinces every day. The incidence spike was also caused by systematic non-compliance with anti-epidemic measures.
Meanwhile, the travel ban that enters into effect tomorrow has already caused thousands of Tehran residents try to leave the provinces by car, creating kilometers-long traffic jams. This is exacerbated by the fact that the lockdown is being imposed during the Eid al-Adha holiday period (July 19 to 23), when many Iranians travel to their relatives in other provinces.
On Monday, the Health Ministry of Iran reported that a total of 5.58 million COVID infections in the republic, with 85,200 related deaths. In the past 24 hours, 25,400 Iranians have contracted the disease, with 213 deaths.