Tehran: Iran said 135 new coronavirus deaths Tuesday took the country’s overall toll to nearly 1,000 Tuesday, as it curtailed celebrations for a fire festival in a bid to contain the disease.
The COVID-19 outbreak in the Islamic republic is one of the deadliest outside China, where the illness originated. The latest deaths, announced by health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour in a televised news conference, took the toll to 988.
Since it announced its first two deaths in the holy Shiite city of Qom last month, Iran has taken a series of steps to contain the virus. However it is yet to impose any lockdowns and the outbreak has spread to all 31 of the country’s provinces.
In its latest attempt to contain the virus, police banned celebrations marking the traditional fire festival that comes before Nowrouz – the Persian New Year.
‘Chaharshanbe Soori’ falls on the last Wednesday of the Iranian calendar before the country’s New Year’s eve, which is on March 20 this year.
Celebrations start Tuesday evening with Iranians traditionally jumping over fires and lighting fireworks, with many suffering burns resulting in hospitalisation.
“Those who go out can be infected with the coronavirus and make things harder for themselves and their families,” state news agency ‘IRNA’ quoted Tehran police official Keyvan Zahiri as saying.
The latest health ministry figures showed the COVID-19 disease is spreading fastest in the Tehran province. “Reports by more than 56 laboratories indicated that we have had 1,178 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection in the past 24 hours,” Jahanpour Tuesday. “This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 16,169 as of today noon,” he added. Tehran province recorded 273 fresh cases of infection.
AP