TEHRAN -- Iran has banned the entry of travelers from South Africa and five neighboring countries after the discovery of a new coronavirus variant in the region, a top Iranian epidemiology official said.
Iranians arriving from the region will be admitted after testing negative twice for COVID, Muhammad Mehdi Gouya, head of Iran’s Center for Disease Control, was quoted as saying by state broadcaster IRIB.
On Saturday, President Ebrahim Raisi called for strict controls on land, air and sea movements, demanding proper monitoring and quarantine programs especially on the country’s eastern borders with Afghanistan Pakistan.
He also paid tribute to Iran’s health society and the public for helping check the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Addressing a daily coronavirus task force meeting, Raisi said all Iranian cities are now off the red list for high risk contagion thanks to the national vaccination campaign.
He said 84 percent of the target population has received the first dose and around 79 percent have gotten both doses of the coronavirus vaccine so far.
The president called for continued efforts to step up the vaccination rate, saying the health staff and patients with underlying diseases should also get booster jabs.
The daily death toll from the coronavirus pandemic in Iran has reached the lowest rates over the past eight months, with more than 46 million Iranians fully vaccinated.