Covid-19 Travel Ban Reimposed on Five Major Cities

The ban on traveling to and from five metropolitan areas in Iran started on October 15 and will last until noon on Sunday, October 18. Some people intent on traveling as part of the three-day vacation began their journeys before the ban took effect on midnight, October 14, leading to traffic jams on the roads between Tehran and the northern province of Mazandaran, especially in Alborz province.

Government officials appeared to want to reduce travel, but so many people started their journeys before the deadline that roads to northern provinces were as busy as they usually are during holidays, as videos published on social media show.

According to the travel ban, cars with license plates from the five cities of Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan, Urmia and Mashhad cannot leave their respective cities; only vehicles with license plates from other cities are allowed to leave these metropolitan areas. Entry is subject to the same rules but in reverse: vehicles with license plates from these cities are allowed to enter but others are banned from entering. However, after authorities outlined these rules, it was later announced that traffic between the neighboring provinces of Tehran and Alborz would be allowed.

Dr. Masoud Mardani, a member of the National Coronavirus Taskforce’s Scientific Committee, warned that If people failed to abstain from traveling during the holiday, coronavirus deaths would double. “We are in a situation where hospitalizations and fatalities from Covid-19 are very high and no hospital beds are available,” he said.

There are reports that some government employees, mostly those over age 60 and pregnant women, have been allowed to work remotely. Prior to October 15, the rules regarding remote work by government employees had been mired in confusion and the government has been criticized for failing to follow guidelines set by the National Coronavirus Taskforce. However, some experts believe that the problem lies with the guidelines themselves and not with the way they are carried out.

Commenting on remote working in the country, Mohammad Ali Mohseni Bandpey, a member of the parliament’s health committee, said, “if we stop jumping between strict and lax policies, this [coronavirus] peak could be the last one, but if we continue as we have done in the last eight months, then we should expect not only the fourth peak but also the fifth, the sixth, the seventh and so on.”

At least 20 million Iranians with underlying diseases are severely threatened by coronavirus, warned Kianoush Jahanpour, director of the health ministry’s public relations department, who added that if health protocols are not observed correctly Iran could expect a “black autumn.”

Underlying diseases include, but are not limited to, AIDS, hepatitis, digestive disorders, tuberculosis, pulmonary diseases and non-contagious diseases including diabetes, cancer and weakness of the immune system. Weakness of the immune system is a major factor, meaning the elderly are highly vulnerable to the effects of coronavirus.

With the arrival of cold season and the resulting increase in air pollution, those with pulmonary and heart problems are in greater danger. According to reports, the air in Tehran between October 11 to October 14 was unhealthy for vulnerable groups, raising alarm about the spread of coronavirus in Tehran and other metropolitan areas.

Provinces Round-up

Because of the increasing number of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in Gilan province all parks and entertainment grounds have been closed, announced Arsalan Zare, the province’s governor.

Out of 14,000 beds in government hospitals in Tehran, 5,000 are occupied, reported Anooshirvan Mohseni Bandpey, the provincial governor. “This is a big number and we must try to reduce it,” he said.

In Alborz province, Covid-19 is killing almost one person every hour. In the last 24 hours, reported Dr. Mohammad Fathi, president of Alborz University of Medical Sciences, 22 coronavirus patients died, raising the total death toll to 1,737. “In the last 24 hours 119 patients with Covid-19 symptoms have been hospitalized in treatment centers across the province,” he said. “Currently, 743 people with cases or suspected cases of coronavirus are hospitalized in treatment centers, of whom 346 have tested positive as of now.”

Many other provinces are in a similar situation. In East Azerbaijan an average of 20 coronavirus patients die every day, and of about 1,000 people who have been tested across the province, half have tested positive, reported Dr. Mohammad Hossein Sumi, president of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. “As of now, 42,000 patients have tested positive, of whom 4.5 percent have died,” he said. “Currently, 1,122 coronavirus patients are hospitalized in the province.”

According to Dr. Sumi, currently 130 Covid-19 patients are connected to ventilators and 25 patients are waiting to be admitted to Imam Reza Hospital in Tabriz.

In her daily briefing for October 15, the health ministry spokeswoman Dr. Sima Sadat Lari announced the official coronavirus statistics for the last 24 hours:

Dr. Lari also reported that, out of 31 Iranian provinces, currently 30 are still in a high state of alert:

This is part of IranWire's coronavirus chronology. Read the full chronology