Iran Braces for Severe Restrictions as Coronavirus Cases and Deaths Surge

Starting on Saturday, November 21, new severe restrictions will take effect across Iran. In a statement to the “Iranian nation,” President Rouhani gave a general outline of what he wants to be done, including “general mobilization, “cooperation of the executive branch with other branches in carrying out ordinances,” “securing funds needed by the Ministry of Health,” “supervision by the police and the [paramilitary] Basij in implementing ordinances,” and the cooperation of the “media in informing the people about compliance with health protocols.”

But in addition to this outline, there have been specific ordinances, such as the one about making travel conditional on coronavirus test results, that will likely be confusing to people.

On November 16, Iran broke another record, both in the number of new confirmed cases, 13,053, and in the number of fatalities, 486. In such a situation, what does Rouhani hope for when the new restrictions get underway?

 

What Will Happen on November 21?

The new ordinance issued by the National Coronavirus Taskforce categorizes Iranian cities into three groups depending on their color-coded state of alert: 155 cities are yellow, 160 cities are orange and more than 100 cities are red, the highest state of alert. By reviewing Covid-19 test results for the previous week, each Monday the status of the city might change and, if the number of infections remain unchanged or rises, these restrictions will be extended.

“When this plan is implemented 100 cities will be on their way to a lockdown,” said government spokesman Ali Rabiei. The only businesses allowed to continue under this “extensive lockdown” in red cities are producers and distributors of essential goods and services. In addition, more severe restrictions will be applied to people traveling out of the cities. Traveling between cities will be banned.

Regardless of the level of alert, said Rabiei, schools will not be able to hold classes in person.

The National Coronavirus Taskforce also came to the decision that a limited amount of people can gather in indoor spaces, although it did not specify what this number was, indicating the number might be based on what level of alert a city or province is in.

“For one-third of employees to work in person, preparations will be required,” Rabiei said, adding that the president agreed that the plan to do this should be implemented starting on November 21. Remaining employees must work remotely.

Prior to this, health minister Saeed Namaki had said the National Coronavirus Taskforce’s goal in ordering new restrictions is to reduce fatalities by 15 percent in a period of one month and by 30 percent in three months.

The details of the new plan are still vague, and while only a few days remain until November 21, some government agencies and other organizations are not quite sure what is expected of them.

 

Confusion on Trains, Planes and Automobiles

The government spokesperson announced that all testing labs will be connected to and registered with the health ministry’s Integrated Health System, known by its Persian acronym SIB.  First,  individuals who have tested positive for coronavirus will be informed by phone, but if they do not comply with rules regarding conduct, including self-quarantine, “they will be heavily fined and prevented from boarding trains and planes and from entering government offices.” He claimed that the system will prevent infected individuals from moving around the city, and around the country.

But Hermatollah Rafiei, president of Iran’s Union of Air and Tourism Services Agencies, called the new ordinance banning travelers who have tested positive for coronavirus from boarding trains, planes and buses, which started on November 18, “vague and confusing.” He said the phrase used to enforce the rule,  the “travel on condition of coronavirus test” will only lead to confusion and tension.

He emphasized that clarification and preparation was necessary before any restrictions were imposed. “Wrong decisions have done enough harm not only to Iran’s tourism but also to the whole economy,” he said. “Why do they confound people with that vague and confusing circular? When it was published, everybody thought that all travelers had to be tested for coronavirus. Everybody thought that people must pay more to travel, meaning that someone must pay at least 600,000 tomans [$155] on top of the price of a ticket for a plane, train or bus. The result will be that, instead of traveling on conveyances that can be controlled, people will choose private automobiles to travel, and that cannot be controlled.”

A few days prior to this, deputy health minister Alireza Raeesi had announced that anyone who had tested positive for coronavirus would be banned from travel by air, train or land.

In an attempt at clarification, Dariush Bagher-Javan, director general for the Travelers Bureau of Iran’s Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization, announced that all transportation companies must register travelers’ national ID code with the health ministry’s system and obtain travel permits for them before issuing tickets.

So far, nothing has been announced regarding potentially-infected individuals who have not been tested for coronavirus traveling in private cars. As a result, these individuals’ ID numbers will not be registered on the health ministry’s system.

 

Provinces Round-up

The situation in Lorestan is “extremely critical”, according to Musa Khademi, governor of the province. He reported an “unprecedented increase” in the number of hospitalizations in the province and said, “Unfortunately, in recent days the number of coronavirus fatalities per day has been more than three to four times higher than compared with previous weeks.”

Ardebil University of Medical Sciences reported in a statement that out of the coronavirus tests conducted by the university’s four mobile labs in crowded areas of the city of Ardebil, 45 percent of them have been positive. In the 24-hour period covering November 15 and November 16, six Covid-19 patients died in Ardebil province, the university reported. Currently, 490 coronavirus patients are hospitalized across the province, out of whom 113 were admitted in the last 24 hours alone.

In Kurdistan, as of November 16, 814 Covid-19 patients were hospitalized in the province, 455 in the provincial capital of Sanandaj. A health official in Sanandaj reported that currently 4,870 Covid-19 patients in the city are quarantined at home.

 

Iran’s Latest Coronavirus Statistics

In her daily briefing for November 16, the health ministry spokeswoman Dr. Sima Sadat Lari announced the official coronavirus statistics for the last 24 hours:

 

Dr. Lari also reported that all 31 Iranian provinces are in red, orange or yellow states of alert.

 

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