TEHRAN -- President Ebrahim Raisi on Saturday charged provincial officials with the task of making decisions about coronavirus-related restrictions or lockdowns as the omicron variant of the virus has triggered the sixth wave of the pandemic in the country.
In comments at a meeting of the Coronavirus Fight National Headquarters, Raisi said the decision as to whether the COVID-related restrictions or public closures are enforced in a city or county will be left to the discretion of the provincial officials.
Raisi said the country should not go into lockdown as was the case during the previous waves and restrictions should be regional and local.
The president also stressed the need for strict compliance with health protocols in crowded places, such as the pilgrimage sites and the public transportation, including the subway.
The number of Iranians diagnosed with the coronavirus and the daily death toll across the country has notably increased in the past few days.
On Saturday, the health ministry said 23,130 new coronavirus cases had been detected in the past 24 hours, taking the caseload to 6,543,800 in the country.
It put the overall death toll from COVID-19 in Iran at 132,745, after 64 patients lost their lives because of the infection.