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News ID: 89033
Publish Date : 10 April 2021 - 22:16

Nowruz Fallout: 10-Day Lockdown Begins

TEHRAN (Dispatches) — Iran on Saturday began a 10-day lockdown amid a fourth wave of coronavirus infections, a worrisome trend after more than a year of the country battling the outbreak.
Iran’s coronavirus task force, charged with determining virus restrictions, ordered most shops closed and offices restricted to one-third capacity in cities declared as "red-zones.”
The capital Tehran and 250 other cities and towns across the country have been declared red zones. They have the highest virus positivity rates and the most severe restrictions in place. Over 85% of the country now has either a red or orange infection status, authorities said.
The severe surge in infections follows a two-week public holiday for Nowruz, the Persian New Year. Millions traveled to the Caspian coast and other popular vacation spots, packed markets to shop for new clothes and toys and congregated in homes for parties in defiance of government health guidelines.
The new lockdown also affects all parks, restaurants, bakeries, beauty salons, malls and bookstores.
Iran’s vaccine rollout is going slowly, with only some 200,000 doses having been administered in the country of 84 million, according to the World Health Organization.
COVAX, an international collaboration to deliver the vaccine equitably across the world, delivered its first shipment to Iran on Monday from the Netherlands containing 700,000 Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine doses.
Tehran says it has received more than 400,000 of 2 million Sputnik V vaccines on order from Russia, and that it is awaiting delivery of 4.2 million AstraZeneca shots.
It has also received 250,000 doses of China’s Sinopharm
vaccine and part of an order of 500,000 doses of India’s COVAXIN.
With a population of 83 million, Iran had hoped to secure over 2 million vaccines by March 20 to vaccinate mainly healthcare workers. It is developing at least four local vaccine candidates, one in cooperation with Cuba, which are expected to reach production in a few months.
The Health Ministry said there were more than 19,600 new infections on Saturday, including 193 deaths. The confirmed death toll since the beginning of the outbreak stood at more than 64,200 in the country of 83 million.
Some critics say the government should have prevented people’s movements during Nowruz.
President Hassan Rouhani said several factors played a role in the rising number of cases but the prime culprit was the UK variant of the virus that entered Iran from Iraq.
"Unfortunately, today we have entered a fourth wave,” he said in televised remarks.  
Other factors included widespread travel, weddings, and celebrations during the Iranian New Year holidays that began on March 20, he said.
Earlier this year, the country kicked off its coronavirus inoculation campaign, administering a limited number of Russian Sputnik V vaccine doses to medical workers.
The lockdown affects 23 of the country’s 31 provinces, Health Ministry spokesman Alireza Raisi said.
The UK variant is now predominant in the country, and 257 cities and towns are in red alert, Raisi said.
In February, Iran closed several crossing points with Iraq in an effort to stem the spread of the UK variant.